A Prayer About Necessities

When I think about what I really need

O LORD,

My life is cluttered. I seem to have accumulated lots of “stuff” through the years. What is most disconcerting is that I purchased most of the items with the idea, at the time, that I definitely needed them: gadgets, labor-saving appliances, electronic gizmos, fashionable clothes, tools, and much more. Now I think, What a waste! and What do I do with all this? I need a refresher course on necessities, determining what I really need instead of what I think I need and giving in to ads or bowing to fads. I believe this is a stewardship issue. It is also about values and focus. Help me resist the pull of my sinful desires and the tendency to feed my hunger for more. Help me to be wise in my choices and not waste my limited resources on trivial purchases and pursuits. On the other hand, I don’t want to be a tightwad and become obsessed with saving a buck. So with the wisdom, please give me generosity. And in all of this, Lord, please show me the true necessities of life.

O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name. Proverbs 30:7-9