Pray While You’re Prey Weekly Devotions for Singles |
Scripture: Deuteronomy 10:12-13 So now Israel, what do you think God expects from you? Just this: Live in his presence in holy reverence, follow the road he sets out for you, love him, serve God, your God, with everything you have in you, obey the commandments and regulations of God that I'm commanding you today—live a good life. | Quote from Pray While You’re Prey: “With or without a mate, I can live a full life that is pleasing to God, and I will be rewarded.” |
Apparently, this is a common problem. I found a couple of YouTube videos and computer forums with possible fixes, and went to the computer’s website, but to no avail. The icon still says, “plugged in, not charging.” This has been going on for a few days, but on this day, it hit me that this is exactly how I feel sometimes with my relationship with Christ. I feel like I am plugged in and not charging. In other words, I know that Christ and I are connected, but I feel stagnant in my life. I feel like I am not moving forward with Him. I feel drained.
Yes, I go to church. I worship sincerely. I read my Bible daily. I read devotions. I pray. I try to live a life that is pleasing to God. I am not trying to sound like the Pharisee that was praying in the New Testament. I am just wondering if there is anyone else that has felt plugged in, yet still empty. You feel like you are doing everything that you know to do. You are seeking God to find out what else you need to do. Why are you stuck in this place? Why can’t you move into the next phase of your life?
Well, as I continued to troubleshoot the laptop/battery/charger issue, I noticed a common theme with this problem. The issue generally happened when using a universal charger; that is to say, a charger that is compatible with many different types of computers, but not specifically made for your particular model. That is what I have because it was less expensive than ordering a new part from the company where I bought my computer. And, as I read through several pages that said, “Don’t use a universal charger,” I had an epiphany. Maybe I feel like I am plugged in, but not charging because I am using a universal standard with which to measure my life rather that the standard of the original Source of my life.
So many times, we get caught up in what the world says our lives should be. And, although we pray and praise, we feel like something is being held back from us. We are plugged in with universal chargers and we are not charging. Instead, we must rely on God; live in His presence, with holy reverence. We must realize that there is no universal formula for each of our lives. Rather, God has a unique and individual plan for each and every one of us to live a good life; a full life. And, what is more, for those who believe in Him and accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior, that life never ends. It will continue throughout eternity.
There is nothing that God is holding back from us, that is literally the oldest trick in the Book (see devil vs. Eve in Genesis). I still probably need a new charger or a new laptop, but I definitely don’t need anything that God has not already given me. We must trust in His plan for our lives, so that we do not find ourselves plugged in, but not charging.
Thank You, God for providing me with
every opportunity to have a full life on Earth and in Heaven.
Please forgive me for thinking that You are holding
anything back from me.
Lord, please help me to not just be plugged in to You,
but recharged daily by Your Word, Your guidance and Your grace.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Pray While You’re Prey Weekly Devotions for Singles
Week Twenty Seven
Control
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God | Quote from Pray While You’re Prey: “If you want an instant self-image booster, stop giving away pieces of yourself to potential mates.” |
When I was 17, I did what people told me
Did what my father said and let my mother mold me
But, that was long ago…I’m in control!
The song came out well before I was seventeen, but oddly enough, when I was seventeen, I made a choice that would change my life completely. I had graduated from high school and I was in my first serious, long-term relationship (okay, it had been four months, but when you’re a teenager, that’s long term). I really loved this guy and we were going to get married, but we had to go finish college first before we could actually get married. Now, I had vowed to God to remain pure until I was married. God had helped me out by not allowing me to have a real boyfriend until I was nearly an adult. But now, I was in a relationship that I knew would last forever and we were committed to each other; we just couldn’t get married because of school, so it was almost like we were married just not on paper.
It’s amazing, as I write it, now it seems like a completely irrational justification for sin, but then, I think I truly believed it. I think I really believed that going to get married and being married were the same thing, so I broke my vow to God to stay pure. I put my relationship with my beau before my relationship with Christ because I was in CONTROL!
Clearly, because I am writing this devotion series for singles, that relationship did not last forever. It took a while for me to regain control over my physical urges, which led to too many ill-advised relationships (one is too many, so don’t sit there and try to figure out a number). When I wrote Pray While You’re Prey, I was abstinent and vocal about it because, with God’s help, I had come back to my senses and chose to avoid sexual immorality, which is God’s will. And, just to be clear, premarital sex is included in sexual immorality. Nevertheless, as I stated in the book, I was not in any real relationship, so I had not been tested. And, when I did get into a real relationship again, I stumbled again. Why? Well, even though I was in control of my decisions, I clearly did not have control over lust and trust.
The lust part is self-explanatory. I was, at the time, old enough to know that I should not put myself in a compromising position. But, older is not necessarily wiser, and sometimes, we think we know our boundaries and we can stop the inevitable at any point, but I am a witness that doing so is nearly impossible. Plus, when it comes down to it, I did not trust God. I had been in a four year relationship dry spell. I had finally met someone with whom I could see forever, and I did not want him to leave me. Had I trusted God, I would have placed the relationship in His hands and said, “Lord, Thy will be done.” But, I could not take the risk that His will was for me to be alone again, so I blatantly disobeyed God’s will in order to keep my man.
Again, obviously, that did not work out too well because I am writing this devotion. Call me old-fashioned, but I do not think that men and women realize the spiritual impact of sex. We know the physical impact. We can most times calculate the emotional impact, but there is a spiritual impact as well that seems to be ignored. For me, submitting to the lust of the flesh caused significant spiritual damage. I did not think that God would or could love me again, but I am so glad that I was wrong. Not only does He love me, but now I have truly placed Him in control because the only way for me to control my body is with His help and His guidance. Abstinence is not impossible with God. Surrender control to Him and He will help you through this time of singleness and temptation.
Thank You, God for being willing to
take control over my life.
Please forgive me for thinking that I could handle
physical urges and passionate lust on my own.
Lord, please help me to be wise enough to
avoid compromising situations and to trust
that You know what and who is best for me.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Pray While You’re Prey Weekly Devotions for Singles
Week Twenty One
At War
Scripture: Galatians 5:17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. | Quote from Pray While You’re Prey: “the Bible says, we will have battles between the Spirit and our flesh constantly.” |
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.
"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
As Christians, we can apply this principle to the spirit and the flesh. The Bible warns us that they will constantly be in conflict. The spirit wants to live in obedience and the joy of salvation; the flesh wants to live in opulence and the justification of sin.
The battle is not always over something huge like whether to pray or to party or whether to shout to the Lord or give a shout out to your favorite booty call. Some battles take place deep within and are more subtle. For example, I often experience the battle for peace of mind. The spirit wants to be content with what I have. The spirit knows that God is in control and that He has a plan for me. The flesh wants to focus on what I do not have, and sometimes, what others have. The flesh wants me to feel that God has abandoned me; that He has left me alone.
When these battles rage on, I often end up in tears. The tears are expressions of pain for the fact that I have allowed so much nonsense to enter into my flesh, through my eyes and my ears, that it sometimes feel like the flesh is just kicking the mess out of my spirit. I get upset because I know that I read enough, and pray enough to know that the devil is a liar and God is on the throne. Still, when it comes to the singleness, the childlessness, the loneliness, I oftentimes let the flesh get the upper hand.
So, what is the solution? The solution is to seek God’s face and rely on the Holy Spirit to give comfort as promised. The solution is to focus on the promises kept by God and the promises to be kept by God rather than focus on the plight of singleness. As the story suggests, the solution is to feed the spirit and to starve the flesh.
Thank You, God for the promise that You alone are God
Please forgive me for feeding my flesh more than my spirit.
Lord, please help me to focus on your faithfulness and
allow my spirit to win the battles and the war.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Pray While You're Prey Weekly Devotions
I pray that this 52-week devotional honors Him and blesses you. Enjoy!
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Pray While You're Prey Weekly Devotions by Toni L. Wortherly is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.