Instead of praying that God will help you not to get caught cheating, or that someone won’t know you lied, pray about these things instead:
Wisdom to know the difference. Maybe you’re not sure if this specific thing will compromise your relationship with God or not. Seek his wisdom. He’s more than ready to give you solid direction when you ask.
Discernment. Discernment is honed wisdom. It allows you to be more than just “generally wise.” Discernment helps you assess specific situations and know from the inside out whether or not it’s right.
Knowledge. If you are rationalizing something and it’s not right in God’s eyes, you want to know about it! So pray for that knowledge. That’s why daily time spent with God in prayer and Bible reading is so important—it gives you a chance to ask God if there’s anything in your life that’s not right. Then it’s his responsibility to help you know what it is. And when he brings it to your mind—when you have knowledge of it—seek his forgiveness and commit it to him. So go ahead. Let him look underneath your cot and inside your closet. Give him your locker and your diary. Surrender your relationships and your heart. Commit to him your will and your desires.
If you’re serious about wanting to avoid compromise in your walk with God, consider praying the following:
Lord, sometimes I move so fast, I forget to stop and think about if what I’m doing is really okay in your sight. I hurry to keep up with my friends, . . . when I should be hurrying to keep myself saturated in your Word.
I don’t want to compromise, Father. My desire is to live a life that’s pleasing to you. I need your discernment, your wisdom, and your strength. Help me to discipline myself daily to establish those attributes in my life. Help me to work at them—practice them—until they become part of my lifestyle. I want to live with integrity, never compromising. Never rationalizing.
Help me to be like Joshua—standing strong when the pressure rises. I don’t want to buckle when I feel the tension. But “as for me and my house . . . I WILL serve the Lord.” Amen.
This is an excerpt from: Devos for Teens
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