A Prayer About Values

A prayer about Values - Giving up everything to follow Jesus

DEAR JESUS,

The man in today’s passage, who had come to you with the question about how to inherit eternal life, seemed to have his life together. He was young, wealthy, and a respected leader in the community, with a lifestyle above reproach. And his question sounded sincere, not like those of the Pharisees and others who tried to trap you. Yet at the end of the conversation, he left sad, empty, and lost. He couldn’t give up what was standing in the way of a relationship with you. “Sell,” “give,” and “follow.” The words seem simple, but that’s so difficult to do. It’s the same message to everyone, rich or poor: give up and follow, repent and believe. I want to follow you fully, Savior. Rationalizations come easy, but I need the brutal truth about my values. Show me what I am grasping that is so difficult to give up: a person, dream, lifestyle, goal, whatever. Pry my fingers off that idol and open my hands to receive your love.

[Jesus] said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich. Luke 18:22-23