Wishes are for the universe to mislead,
Prayers are for the God of the Universe to heed.
To be honest, I say "oh i just wish..." a lot... too much. Wishes are often empty desires or selfish wants, while prayers are addressed to the Lord. You could tell God your wishes, but that's different because you're talking to Him. When you just say something to just "put it out into the universe" it doesn't make you feel any better, and you're not closer to achieving what you wish for that's for sure. When we talk to God we feel instant peace because, duh, we're talking to the creator of everything! With every prayer to God we grow, our roots deeper, and our hearts grow fonder of the unknown. Don't you want to grow?
As I've been digging deeper into the Word of God, and truly pursuing a Christ-lead life, the more these small bad habits have stood out to me. There are countless things in our lives that give the devil a free trip into our minds. This past year I had stopped listening to explicit music because it didn't actually make me feel good, it actually increased my anxiety! I have also stopped saying "Oh my God" (unless I'm praying of course) because it takes the Lord's name in vain. Saying that disrespects Him by generalizing His amazing, unmatched love and power. The devil loves that, he encourages us to be disobedient. The devil is like the fifth grade troublemaker who knows just what to say to get the goody-two-shoes to go a little wild, except much, much worse.
The wilder we become, the closer we get to the weeds, and the weeds will choke out anything to keep beautiful flowers from growing {Luke 8}. The little sins in life are the ones we hardly talk about because they are so gosh darn hard to stop doing! It takes effort, and time, and good intention. You can wish to be changed all you want, but until it becomes a prayer to God from your heart, you won't see any change in your life. Prayers can be simple, laid back, fun, loud, in the form of worship or tears. So really there's no excuse not to just talk to God. In the shower, on a drive, on your knees-- it's customizable! Look at how you spend your time, what's choking you out if you're honest with yourself? Who's a bad influence or controlling? Are you being a bad friend/ roomie/ significant other? Take a few minutes just to think about how you're living your life. If you can't think of anything ask God to show you, because we all can afford to pull some of the weeds we let surround us.
List the things or people in your life that are pulling you from good soil and pray to God asking for His help to remove or to right them.
This week be aware of the empty wishes you think or say aloud, catch yourself in the moment and ask if yourself if it is a selfish wish. Or perhaps it's something truly good that can be turned into a prayer, if you were to invite the Lord into your conversation.
"To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:22-24
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