A Prayer For Consumerism

A Prayer for Consumerism

O God of abundance,

We come to You and ask

For Your Holy guidance

As we raise children

In a culture shouting and selling

Promises of more.

You have given us what we need for this day,

And yet we confess that our own lives

Have been marked by want.

Forgive us for stumbling into greed,

For biting into the fruit of consumerism,

And for fighting for a life marked by scarcity

Instead of gratitude for Your abundance.

O Lord, how do we raise children

Who are not led by our culture’s values

About what we consume

And how much of it we consume

And how fast we can consume it?

We have bought the lie

That more will fill us,

That new will sustain us,

That big will protect us.

We have even commodified You, O Lord,

Thinking that if we do

Or say the right things,

We can buy Your love—

A love that is given freely

And never for sale.

We have fallen into the trap of entitlement.

Enlighten us and rescue us

From the dark allure of more.

We have reasoned and rationalized

The ways we spend our money,

Forgetting that all we have is Yours.

We have fallen asleep

To the truth that how we spend our money

Is how we spend our lives.

And in our hunt for more,

We have become the prey.

We have conflated bigger, newer houses

With security and success,

And our children are watching.

We have told our little ones

To give to the poor,

But we have stored our own treasures

In 401(k)s and savings accounts.

We have replaced our identity as Your children

With crowns of privilege

And robes of prestige.

How can we raise children to value

Your Son, Jesus Christ,

When we have filled our hearts

With a search for more

Instead of a search for You?

O Lord, we lament the ways

We have taken the lie of the enemy

And eaten it whole.

Deliver us from the depth of our greed,

And free us from the clutches of the evil one.

Forgive us for the ways we have evangelized

The gospel of consumerism,

And deliver us from the ways

We have worshiped at the altar

Of consumption.

You have given us our daily bread,

Yet we have desired the whole bakery.

We have eaten until we are full,

And yet we have forgotten our hungry neighbor.

Convict us, Spirit, of the ways we have filled ourselves

With everything but Your goodness.

Fill the voids we have with Your tender mercies

And gifts of grace.

We ask for self-control as we are bombarded

By messaging all around us

That tells us to keep climbing,

Keep collecting,

Keep growing.

What have You required of us, O Lord?

To act justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly

With You.

Forgive us when we have forgotten this,

And walk beside us as our children watch

Our journey of a life lived with You.

We have built sandcastles

And called them good,

And we have lost our footing

When the waves of life crashed down.

We have cared more about what we have

Than who You are.

We have been so focused

On shiny objects that we have neglected

To see the treasure of You

In the person across from us.

Let Your Word be more than

Sunday school platitudes,

And may we be transformed

By the shackle-breaking, liberating, glorious love

Of Jesus Christ,

Who breaks chains of consumerism

And rescues us from the pit of entitlement.

If we have abundance,

Let it be an abundance of peace.

If we have wealth,

Let it be the wealth of memories together.

If we must consume,

Let us consume Your Word.

If we must invest,

Let it be in the poor.

If we have more than we need,

Let us give more freely.

When we look to our children, remind us

That You are the giver of good gifts

And You are a compassionate God

Who never stops seeking us, pursuing us,

And welcoming us home,

Even when we have fallen short.

Help us live with hands open

So that we may receive Your abundant life.

Help us raise children to walk paths

Of generosity rooted in Your great love.

We thank You, O Lord,

For what You have given us.

And while we lament our inclinations to excess,

We also ask for Your guidance

To raise families in gospel generosity

And lavish love.

Keep us far from the enemy’s snare

Of newer, bigger, and better.

For Yours is the Kingdom,

The house upon the rock,

And the very Rock itself.

Amen.

Hebrews 13:5-6; Micah 6:8; Matthew 7:24-27; Matthew 13:45-46; Matthew 7:11; John 10:10; Deuteronomy 32:4