A Prayer for Abundant Life
By: Lindsay Tedder
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” - John 10:10
We’ve heard it all before. The enemy comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. His entire life’s mission is to steal our joy, destroy our souls, and kill our bodies, ruining our chance at eternity with our Creator.
When I take a minute to think about what this looks like in my life, I’m met with immense overwhelm. I let random and unimportant life situations steal more joy than I’m happy to admit. I have been tempted to partake in activities that could ultimately destroy my soul. I pray against the enemy’s schemes daily, because I know how susceptible I am to his tricks.
Think about it: Your eyes burst open from the depths of a deep slumber. You were in the midst of an intense dream. You can tell by the rapid beat of your heart and the sweat on your brow. You try to get settled back into bed, praying for slumber to return, only to wrestle your pillow for a few hours. Then when you’re finally back asleep, your alarm blares in your ear reminding you of the busy day ahead.
As you continue through your morning, you run out of toothpaste because you forgot to stop at the store last night. “Grrr…today is going to be great” you sneer to the mirror, your words dripping with sarcasm. As you make your way to the car, your shoe breaks, forcing you to turn around and change, wasting more time. Then, as you’re driving, someone cuts you off, almost causing an accident. By this point, you are fuming. The way in which your morning has gone has now become an assumptive prediction of the way the rest of the day will unfold. You muddle through the day getting more frustrated with every passing hour. Nothing is going your way.
We’ve all been there. Overwhelmed by a barrage of poorly timed frustrations.
But… are they really poorly timed? Is it truly a coincidence? Or are we allowing the enemy to grab hold of the slightest piece of our heart, leading to an entire day of enemy strongholds?
When we willingly hand the enemy the tiniest snippet of our joy it can quickly become a breeding ground of discontent, which leads to a disconnect from our Father.
Jesus’ words in John 10:10 tell us that the enemy is real. The enemy is on the move. The enemy wants us. He wants to distract us with trivial things that seem anything but trivial in the moment so that he can continue to have one foot in the door of our lives.
Jesus, however, comes to give us life. He doesn’t stop there, though. Not only does Jesus come to give us life, but rather life “more abundantly.” How beautiful a picture does that paint? Our Father loves us so much that He doesn’t want us to just have life, but He wants to overflow His abundance upon us.
What would it look like to have an abundance of the life He intended for us to live? I can promise you that those days where nothing is going your way, surely are not what He has in mind!
What are you allowing the enemy to steal, kill, or destroy?
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you. Thank you for loving me so much that you want me to have an abundant life. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me. Thank you for informing me of the enemy’s tactics and tricks. Thank you for the protection from the stealing and killing and destroying, the enemy tries to hurl my way.
Lord, I pray fervently that you open my eyes to the tricks of the enemy. Allow me to walk through today with a discerning heart, as I traverse the mundane details of this earthly life. I pray that you never allow these lessons to be wasted. Remind me when I fall victim to the days where nothing is going my way, that I need only YOU. I surrender my attitude to you, Lord. I surrender my thoughts that say, “nothing is going my way.”
I willingly exchange the enemy’s attempt at death and destruction with your abundant and free-flowing life. Guide me today and every day and continue to remind me who I am.
In your matchless name, I pray.
Amen.
Lindsay Tedder is a believer, wife, mom, bestie and writer who lives in Columbus, Ohio with her bearded, bourbon-loving husband and her too-cool-for-school toddler. She is full of raw honesty, enthusiastic authenticity, amiable compassion, humble grit, powerful passion…and outrageous laughter, double chins, real life, and frothy nectar-of-the-gods coffee…because…coffee. Raised by a hardworking single mom, she overcame such trauma as sexual abuse induced food addiction, the debilitating health issues associated with endometriosis, a decade of infertility, and recurring life themes of worthlessness. Connect with her at www.LindsayTedder.com.
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
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