A Prayer About Contentment - 365 Pocket Morning Prayers

A prayer about Contentment - Living gratefully in every situation

DEAR LORD,

I remember telling children about the difference between “wants” and “needs.” A “want” is something you think you must have to improve your life, but a “need” is a requirement (and usually they aren’t the same). Yet even now I find myself falling into the trap of thinking that I absolutely need so much more than I have. Perhaps TV and Internet ads are heightening my desires, or maybe I’m envious of what my friends and coworkers have and want the same for myself. Whatever the reason, this lust for what I don’t have is sin. Forgive me. The apostle Paul learned the secret of being content even when he was hungry, poor, and powerless. The secret? He relied completely on you—your plan for his life and your strength. I know the next several hours will bring temptations to want a different life or just more—possessions, prestige, higher income, and improved standard of living. Please keep me from believing the lie that I need those things. I just need you.

I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13