Jesus, the truth is, I want to live in a place where I can have peace and safety. I am looking for a place where I can be free from pain and damage caused by such things as problems with spending. I want to have a life that experiences pleasure and happiness without the fear of experiencing pain and death. But, the issue I face is, what is it going to take to get into such a place?

Jesus, sometimes I only care about how I am being treated. Sometimes I don’t want to feel the needs and desires of others. I want peace and happiness in my life; but, sometimes I don’t care about other’s peace and happiness. Sometimes I am perfectly satisfied with happiness that comes through other’s sacrifices. And, there are times when I am even willing to get it through other’s suffering and pain. As long as I can win, sometimes it doesn’t bother me that others had to lose.

Jesus, teach me that God, on the other hand, doesn’t have the opinion that it is all about me. He knows what it is going to take for me to be free from pain caused by struggles with spending. And, He knows how to bring complete happiness and joy to me. But, it comes through Him when I am only involved in win/win situations for all who are involved.

Jesus, teach me that God is all about grace (giving me a chance to get His blessings and Kingdom even though I didn’t do anything to earn it) and mercy (forgiving me for things that I deserve to be punished for). Show me that, that means I am going to be able to receive healing from the problems caused by spending even though I can’t do anything to earn or deserve it. It also means that God is going to set me free from the mistakes I have made that caused the damage and pain in my heart and life.

Jesus, teach me that even though I have made some really bad mistakes, and even though I deserve what is happening to me, God is going to set me free (grace). And, He is going to do it without me suffering from any punishment (mercy). He is going to make it as if I didn’t do all those things to myself and others (forgiveness). Even though I may feel I deserve some kind of punishment, even though I may feel like I need to learn how to forgive myself, even though I may feel like I will never be able to undo all the wrong, bad, and evil things I have done, He will still give me the gift. God’s grace (a gift I don’t deserve) is going to be applied to my life; because God is all about gifts.

Jesus, teach me that before I can start on my journey toward being born again into God’s family, and before I head toward becoming a citizen in God’s Kingdom, and before I start being set free from the difficulties of spending, I will need to decide what kind of a person I am willing to become. Help me understand that God is all about freedom of choice.

Jesus, teach me that if I don’t want what God has to offer, God wants me to have the right to reject it. But, I can’t KNOW what God is offering me, if I can’t try it out. So, God is willing to allow me to “test drive” His provisions. In other words, I can allow God to give me a “taste” of all He is offering me. I can experience the greatness of God; then after I have done that, I will be able to make a KNOWLEDGEABLE decision as to whether or not I want to continue in it. I will KNOW if I want to give my life over to His way of living.

Jesus, teach me that I will only get one shot at testing God’s way, His truth, and His life. He doesn’t allow me to quit trying it out and then come back. Help me understand that it is very important that I give it an honest and complete test before I make my final decision. Show me that He won’t require me to make a final decision until I know FOR SURE whether or not I like His plan.

Jesus, teach me that in the process of gaining all the benefits that God has to offer, there are some things I am going to have to BE WILLING to give up. God requires that I BE WILLING to give up things that hurt people. If I don’t feel like I am doing something that hurts others but God does, I will have to BE WILLING to give it up anyway. I have to trust that God knows what is best for everyone involved.

Jesus, teach me that I won’t have to force myself to give up those things God is against. It is vital for me to learn one important rule: Christianity isn’t about what I can do for God, it is all about what God can do for me. All I have to do is BE WILLING to give them up. God will help me make the necessary changes through His POWER; but, He will NEVER force me to change. He will simply continue to talk to me and try to convince me that I need to LET Him set me free from them.

Jesus, teach me that once I decide to BE WILLING to give certain things up, You will start showing me how to yield to Your power and be set free from those attitudes and deeds. Show me that these attitudes and deeds are the foundational cause of my problems with the difficulties of life and all the other issues I am suffering from. Since this is something I am interested in finding more about, help me move forward. Help me look at the steps on how to enter God’s Kingdom so You can set me free from my struggles with spending.

Jesus, I need to understand some spiritual principles; and, You want to explain them to me by using a “field planting” parable or spiritual illustration. Teach me that a parable is similar to an illustration. Show me that a parable isn’t just an illustration; a parable is a system for taking some event I see in the life around me and using it to teach a spiritual principle to me. Help me see that I am about to experience the process of having “seeds” of spiritual truth “planted” in my life. This spiritual illustration or parable from You is designed to help me understand what is about to happen to me.

Jesus, help me picture this story You are ready to tell me. You are telling me a story about a guy who takes a bag of seeds, sticks his hand into the bag, pulls out a handful of seeds, and throws the seeds all over the ground around where he is standing. Help me see it! Since this planting method is called broadcasting, it is a method that is used to scatter seeds all over all kinds of soil conditions. It is impossible to control, with any real accuracy, where the seeds will land. Since the seeds aren’t being individually planted in a specific spot, they tend to land on good and bad soil alike.

Jesus, teach me that in this parable, these seeds are going to land on four types of soil conditions. Three of them will be bad soil conditions and only one will be a good soil condition. Some seeds will land on the path around the field where all the people walk. Some seeds will land on rocks with a thin layer of dirt on them. Some seeds will land on soil where there are a lot of weeds growing. And, some seeds will land on soil that is plowed, fertilized, moist, and ready for planting. I am praying that this is me, Jesus.

Jesus, as these studies give me the truth about life and eternity (planting seeds), and as I am deciding what I am going to do with that information (soil condition), help me see that I can have four types of reactions to having such truths from God planted in my life (four types of soil condition). Once I can see which reaction-category I am located in, help me better understand what is causing my issues with spending. From there, help me be able to be guided into studies that bring healing and blessings from God into my life.