Jesus, from the first days of my Christian experience, the Biblical principle in Matthew 6:28-30 really worried me. It challenged almost every aspect of what I was taught by the world. Most of the time I simply ignored it because I had no intentions of applying it to my life.

Jesus, empower me and teach me how to not worry about clothes. Let me see how the lilies of the field grow. Show me that they do not labor or spin. Yet You are teaching me that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, give me the faith to believe that He will much more clothe me; heal me from being a person of little faith (Mat 6:28-30)?

Jesus, I can felt a real attitude of resistance toward this Biblical principle in Matthew 6:28-30. I can remember thinking that I just wasn’t ready for this passage. I decided to move on and deal with it later. You allowed me to do that; but, as long as I don’t get it settled, I continue to struggle with the righteousness of God. The reason for this is because I don’t have my breastplate of righteousness on. And, the reason I don’t have it on is because I haven’t embraced this Scripture. That has caused me to lack the power to properly care about others.

Every time finances and what I consider necessities of life come up as an issue, I have been seeking money as my first priority. My reasoning has continued to be that I have to have a job; I have to pay my bills; I have to have a place to sleep, I have to have food to eat and clothes to wear; and, all of these statements are true. But, I want to start getting all these THINGS through You.

Jesus, show me what isn’t true about the way I have been thinking. Let me see that it isn’t true that I have to get MYSELF a job. Show me that it isn’t true that I have to get some money to pay MY bills. Reveal to me that it isn’t true that I have to get a place to sleep, food to eat, and clothes to wear. Help me see that as long as I refuse to put my breastplate of righteousness on, my whole world will revolve around me, my problems, and my needs. I will always believe that I was the one who got this job done. Help me not just pray and ask You to work the circumstances around me so a GOOD job will be available to me. And, for me to do it while I am zeroing in on ME finding MYSELF a job. Even though all of this sounds normal, help me see that You have a much better way of taking care of these things.

Jesus help me see that Matthew 6:28-30 is trying to reason with me; it is trying to help me feel relaxed enough to go ahead and trust You for taking care of my basic needs and problems. Let me hear it when You say to me that, if God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe me. Help me stop being a person of little faith in God’s love and honesty. Show me the difference in You doing it or me doing it. I may be able to get a job; but, I want a job that would meet my physical AND spiritual needs. Help me always consider the principle that I can’t do anything without You.

Jesus, teach me the next principle I have to accept, that You won’t do what I need without me. Empower me to accept it as a collaborative effort; show me that if I am going to get the job that is best for me AND THOSE AROUND ME, I am going to have to learn how to get it through You. Where I have often gone wrong, Jesus, is I did seem to accomplish things without You. I thought I had successfully satisfied the necessities of my life by means of my own efforts. It looked like I was able to break this principle of God. However, those things I sought, ceased to be necessities of life. They became the masters of my present and future.

In other words, I DIDN’T get a job, a house, food, and clothing. Instead, I got myself a new master.

Jesus, once I got a job, a house, food, and clothing, I didn’t have time for You; or, I had very little time for You. Ninety-five to one-hundred percent of my time has been spent making a living. Even if I did have more time, I had expended so much of my energy and creative abilities on my job I have had nothing left to give to You. I just wanted to spend my time-off resting or playing. Teach me and empower me to break this pattern and grow in my relationship with You.

Jesus keep me from being the person who received the seed that fell among the thorns. Keep me from being the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful (Mat 13:22).

Jesus, thank You for Your parable (an illustration of a natural event to explain how the spirit realm works) about a man who went out and planted seeds in his field. Help me see that the reason there were already seeds in the man’s field that grow thorns is because I came to You filled with world training. Help my heart to cease being open to world principles and world training or thorns will continue to grow in my life. I will have Biblical principles producing wonderful results; AND, I will have world results showing up too. PLUS, You said that the world results (thorns) will choke it (Your provisions), making it unfruitful. Help me be free from all world training in my life.

Jesus, show me what those thorns are that make my life unfruitful. Set me free from the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth that choke it, making it unfruitful. Set me free from all those things I get by using my own human efforts rather than joining You. Keep me from ending up with Your work in my life being choked out. I NEED YOUR BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS to protect me, Jesus.