Jesus, help me not be one who receives the seed that fell on rocky places. Help me not be a person who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since I have no root, I LAST ONLY A SHORT TIME. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, I quickly fall away (Mat 13:20-21).

Jesus, protect me from this reaction number two of the four reactions people have to hearing the message on how to join God’s Kingdom. As I finish looking at all four reactions, and as I can see how one or more of them are possibly the way I will react to the instructions on how to become a citizen of God’s Kingdom, help me decide to join God’s family and go ahead and try Christianity out.

Once I decide to give You and Your Christianity a try, help me pray the prayer I am given. Help me pray the prayer that You gave us to pray that allows me to “test drive” Christianity. Give me a “taste” of all the wonderful things You have to offer. Help me become a person who understands Christianity; help me understand it well enough to be able to decide whether or not I like all the things You have to offer.

Jesus, when I start living according to Your principles for life, help me devote myself to only doing those things that are good for me, other people, AND God’s plan for everyone’s life. Then when some of my friends want me to do things that You are against, empower me to refuse.

When my boss or some leader wants me to do things that are a win situation for the company or group BUT NOT for the client or person of interest, teach me how to refuse. When I start to do something that is best for me but not for my friends, help me pray and get You to help me only do good for me AND my friends.

Help me explain to my boss or some authority in my life why it isn’t a good and successful business or way of life to cheat, mislead, and sin against clients, customers, employees, and people in general. Teach me that some will understand and allow You to change them. But, help me accept the fact that others will reject me and Your principles for life.

Prepare me for the fact that I will also find this true of my friends; some will like this new me and others will start avoiding me. Help me not be a person who cares more about what people say and think rather than what God says and thinks. Keep me from leaving You and Your Christianity and going back to my old self.

Jesus, I can allow other people to make my decisions for me. If I want to, I can let the criticism and social pressure of my non-Christian “friends” push me out of God’s Kingdom. I can allow the threat of losing my job be more important than what You want. I can allow people, who are making fun of me or persecuting me, to cause me to quit Christianity. Help me understand that if I yield to these pressures, I have the condition You explained as being the seeds that fell on shallow, rocky soil. Teach me that yielding to these kinds of people means I have my roots blocked off by people, their opinions, their actions, and their words. Show me that I need a healing in the attitudes and character of my heart; help me get that healing.

Jesus, other people’s opinions have quite an affect on how I believe, think, feel, talk, and act. Teach me how to pray so I don’t have to deal with this issue alone. Help me accept that You will be available for me to talk to (pray). And, help me realize that I can ask You for Your power to help me stick with Christianity. Show me that I can get help with my struggles with marriage; and, I can be helped to enter into Your eternal Kingdom.

Jesus, You have special places where I can find true friends who will encourage me to continue on my journey toward God’s Kingdom. Help me find a good church where people will accept me and help me stay the course. Let their opinions be encouraging and helpful. AND, let me allow these studies be working together with Jesus to teach me and train me on how to deal with and even help people who are resisting me.

Jesus, empower me to allow You to teach me how to change bosses, spouses, clients, employees, customers, children, and the new people I meet. A lot of people don’t know what the benefits are to being born again. So, rather than me allowing people who are wrong to pull me back in, let me help many of THEM change.

Jesus, I may have been a person who has always been a people pleaser. This may be an area where I have always had major problems in my life. If Your principles go against the beliefs of my friends and people who influence me, it may be like a rock down in my heart that resists anything that You have to say. But, I ask You to break up that rock of resistance and heal my heart from going along with the crowd; help me stand on my own two feet. Help me stand up to all the social pressure and stay locked into freedom from difficulties with marriage. Help me with a determination to spend eternity with my heavenly Father.