A Prayer to Audit Our Thoughts
By Ashley Moore
"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…" - 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 ESV
I asked my husband to repair a few things around the house, and he said my expectations were unrealistic. I struggled to hide my annoyance but realized my response was due to an underlying lie I've struggled with often. Do you relate to any version of this particular lie?
- I'll be at peace after this house is spotless.
- If I could get my to-do list done, I'd feel better.
- If I didn't have to worry about everything going wrong around me, I could finally rest.
On the surface, these lies seem fairly harmless, right? It's not bad to want your yard to be nice, house clean, or have a completed to-do list. The danger of this thought pattern was the underlying belief I needed a certain set of external circumstances to be happy, to rest, and to have peace. External circumstances are not a stable place to put our hope. Only Jesus can sustain our constant need for fulfillment. Everything else is like building our house on sinking sand. As soon as a slight rain or wind comes along, we find our footing washed out from under us (Matthew 7:26-27).
The battle between our ears has to be fought vigilantly. I was so busy trying to solve the problem I was experiencing in my flesh by making a to-do list, putting my husband to work, and working us both into a tizzy trying to get everything finished. But that is not the way to be victorious over our thought lives. So, how do we fight this unseen battle? We have to audit our thoughts like our bank accounts and account for what we think about. We often become frustrated chasing peace and rest because our thoughts don't align with God's Word. When that happens, we can replace those thoughts with the truth from Scripture. I constantly replace lies with truth, knowing my relationship with Jesus is the only thing that fully satisfies and gives me peace. Jesus is better than a clean house, neat yard, or superhero husband. As we audit our thoughts and align them with the Word of God, we experience what our hearts are truly after. They were designed to be fulfilled by an intimate connection with our Creator.
Let's pray:
Jesus,
Thank you for illuminating the vulnerability of our minds and the temptation to remedy weakness in our power. Forgive us for believing other things will satisfy as only You can. It must break your heart to see your children chasing something that will never bring them the peace and rest we desperately crave. But Lord, thank you for gently drawing our attention to these behaviors and beckoning us into a deeper relationship with you. Lord, please continue to show us how you can fully satisfy and give us peace that surpasses our circumstances and understanding. Lord, help us to become great displays of your marvelous power and love to an onlooking world desperate for you! Thank you for using our lives for Your purpose despite our shortcomings. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Photo Credit:©Getty Images/Vadym Pastukh
Ashley Moore is a writer and host of be the two™podcast. She is known for her relatability and for passionately writing and speaking about mental, emotional, and relational health from a biblical worldview. She has written for Kingdom Edge Magazine, Guideposts, Crosswalk, The Secret Place, enLIVEn, The Bubbling Brook and more. If Ashley isn't writing, you can find her with her husband, three children, and two floppy-eared Goldens on their south Georgia farmland. The best way to connect with Ashley is to grab a free devotional or Bible study and join her newsletter at free.ashleynicolemoore.com.
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
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