Friday
REPLY HAZY, TRY AGAIN
Kendra Intihar
Today’s Scripture: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16, ESV
Theme: Through prayer, God gives us wisdom and discernment in decision-making.
IT’S NOT MAGIC
My son has a Magic 8 Ball. To be silly, he asks it things like, “Will my mom let me stay up late tonight?” and “Can we have pizza for dinner?” and “Should my brother clean my room for me?” Of course, the answers the “magic” 8 Ball gives back are randomly generated by turning the ball over and over—at which point my son usually discovers that the responses he receives are completely out of alignment with reality.
We often treat prayer like the Magic 8 Ball. We want to be able to ask God a question, shake things up, and have His response clearly spelled out for us. But, more often than not, the answers to our questions don’t simply materialize as they do on an 8 Ball. Instead, through wholehearted prayer, we can know that we are making decisions in alignment with the will of God because we have the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding us.
HAVE YOU PRAYED ABOUT IT?
That question has always given me heart palpitations. What does it mean? And how does it affect the outcome? And how exactly are we supposed to “pray about it?”
I remember praying before I married my husband—but not too hard, because I didn’t want God to tell me he wasn’t the right person for me. I remember praying about buying our house—but not too earnestly, because I didn’t want God to say that it wasn’t the one for us. I remember praying about whether I should accept a job offer—but not wholeheartedly, because what if God said no? I really wanted that job.
It’s not that I shouldn’t have been praying about these things (we should pray about everything!); it’s that I was taking a Magic 8 Ball approach to them, assuming God would spell out a specific answer, even if it wasn’t one I wanted to hear.
While there aren’t verses in Scripture that tell us exactly how to pray about decisions, there are many that remind us a healthy prayer life brings wisdom and discernment, inviting the Holy Spirit to be the guiding voice in our lives.
My decision-making prayers often sounded something like, “God, please show me whether I should buy the Honda or the Toyota,” and then I’d sit around waiting for the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit to say, “the Honda has a better options package…I’d go with that one.”
DECISION-MAKING PRAYERS
Jokes aside, the Bible does offer insight on how prayer can shape the decision-making process. Here are some things the Bible encourages us to pray for—things that make room for the Holy Spirit to inform our choices:
Wisdom and Discernment. Just like Solomon asked God for wisdom and received it, so can we. In fact, James tells us plainly in James 1:5: when we ask for wisdom, our generous God will give it to us. And with wisdom, comes the ability to wisely discern the best choice among the paths before us.
Provision. Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread…” The Lord always provides. When we pray God’s provision in our life, when we ask for “just enough,” as Jesus taught us to do, God meets our needs. What is the “daily bread” you’re seeking God’s counsel on? Pray for His provision.
Knowledge of God’s Will. In Colossians 1:9-11, Paul tells the church at Colossae that He continually asks God to “fill them with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives” (NIV). We can ask God to help us know His will through the Spirit’s insight. That knowledge aligns our hearts with His good purposes—helping us make decisions that reflect that alignment.
Confession of Our Sins. Psalm 66:18 says, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (NIV). A heart harboring unconfessed sin can block our ability to make wise decisions. Before we ask for direction, we need to make space to confess. That’s how we tune our hearts to hear the Spirit.
A Renewed Mind. The best way to discern God’s will is to separate ourselves from worldly concerns and to immerse our hearts and minds in the concerns of the Lord. As Scripture reminds us in Romans 12:2, the renewing of our minds allows us to “discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (CSB).
Maybe our prayers should sound less like, “God, please tell me if I should buy the Toyota or the Honda,” and more like, “God, please give me wisdom as I make important decisions for myself and my family.” God certainly cares about our mundane choices—but He cares even more that we’re becoming more and more Christlike.
Make it Personal: It’s tempting to treat our prayers like petitions to a Magic 8 Ball. When you think of big decisions on your horizon, ask God for the wisdom and discernment to take the right path. God gives good things to His children when they ask (Matthew 7:11).
Pray: Lord, I pray that you would increase my wisdom and understanding. Align my heart with yours so that I can discern the best path in any decision I must make. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Read: Isaiah 30:21; Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 25:4-5
Weekly Memory Verse: “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy;” (Psalms 16:11a, NLT)