Heavenly Father, since without faith it is impossible to please You, because anyone who comes to You must believe that You exist and that You reward those who earnestly seek You (Heb 11:6), empower me to always know and believe these two things. Help me pick up my shield of faith by looking to You for my help; let me be a person who comes to You. Let my faith be tied to You.

Help me stop seeing numerous sources available for the supplying of my needs. Help me join You in seeing that You are my only choice. When I get things by means of my own efforts, I end up getting a new master rather than a need met. If I, then, though I am evil, know how to give good gifts to my children, how much more will You, Father in heaven, give good gifts to me when I ask You (Mat 7:11)! Teach me that this is how I come to You; keep me asking You for those things I need.

Jesus, I want something but don’t get it. I kill and covet, but I cannot have what I want. I quarrel and fight. I do not have, BECAUSE I do not ask God (James 4:2). Teach me that there is a world system that I can use to get my “needs” met; or, so I am told. First, I get a job; then I make some money; after that I use the money to purchase what I need. Teach me that this is not the system You want me using.

You, Jesus, tell me, do not worry about my life, what I will eat or drink; or about my body, what I will wear. You are asking me the question, Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes (Mat 6:25)? Even though this is a foreign concept to me, and even though I think that there are no more important things than what I eat, drink, and wear, and even though I see them as the BASIC needs of life, help me find the answer to this question: Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

Jesus, if I don’t know what I need, then I don’t know where to put my shield of faith. Teach me the principle, But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these THINGS will be given to you as well (Mat 6:33). Help me seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, and all these THINGS will be given to me as well. Establish what my priority-needs are; help me know where to put my shield of faith. Teach me that since life is more important than food, and the body more important than clothes, then my biggest needs are Your Kingdom and Your righteousness. Even though not very many people get up in the morning with this at the top of their “To Do” list, help me set this as my daily goal.

Show me why You gave me life and why You gave me a body. I will never be able to succeed at life or win with my body, if I am heading in the wrong direction. If my struggles, battles, and temptations are pulling me away from my main purpose in life, then my shield of faith is being used to protect me from things that I shouldn’t even be having to deal with in the first place. Teach me that BEFORE I need a career, a job, some money, some things, or a relationship with someone, I must know where I am heading in the first place. Keep me from putting together the wrong things and the wrong people because I am trying to accomplish the wrong goal.

Jesus, show me what I believe in, trust in, rely on, and depend on the most. Show me that if I seek first something other than You, then it is my opinion that it is my number one priority. If I feel I must get my career going first, find a job, make some money, get set up in life, get a secular education, make sure I can pay my bills, or get all the THINGS I need, then that is what my shield of faith is made of; and, that is where I have it positioned. Heal me of this spiritual misconception and rebuild my shield of faith out of the right material.

Jesus, take me through this test: How would it affect my emotions if I lost my job, my career failed, the economy crashed, my savings were lost, my health deteriorated, or I lost an important relationship? Would my faith in You be stronger and more emotionally stabilizing than the problems and loses I faced? If not, then help me spend some time together with You getting my shield of faith made out of God’s existence and the fact that He rewards. If my shield of faith is made out of money, job security, career advancement, a savings plan, a relationship, or my abilities and skills, help me and my shield of faith.

Jesus, if I need a job, only You know which one. If I should train for a career, only You know which one. If I need some money, only You know where I should get it. If I need some employees, only You know which ones. If I need a partner, only You know where I should go to find them. You alone will make sure I get all my needs met. You alone will make sure I get the right needs met. You alone will make sure I get my needs met the right way. You alone will make sure I get my needs met on a permanent basis with no side-effects.

Jesus, since no one can serve two masters, either I will hate the one and love the other, or I will be devoted to the one and despise the other. Teach me the full meaning of the principle that I cannot serve both God and Money (Mat 6:24). Make sure I don’t get my needs met and the solution trap me in a rat race that enslaves me for the rest of my life. Keep bills, jobs, careers, relationships, needs, interests, and pleasure from pulling me in all the wrong directions. Help me make the kinds of decisions that set me on a path of freedom and true success. Otherwise, I will get up every morning for the rest of my life living a life where money is in total control of every moment of every day. Jesus, instead of me making my shield of faith out of money, possessions, positions, power, prestige, popularity, pleasure, and accomplishments, help me allow You to make it out of the fact that God exists and rewards my earnest seeking of Him.