Prayer Focus: Pure Thoughts and Good Attitude
Central Scripture: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I thank You today for the way that You have made us, Your children. We are so intricately made, with the ability to think and reason through things like none of your other creation can. I thank You for the complexity of my mind and the ways that You have uniquely designed each person in accordance with Your purposes for them.
I pray today for the minds of my family, God. The connection between the thoughts a person has and the fruit that person’s life bears is obvious, so I pray for Your Spirit to pervade every thought my husband, my children, and I have. I pray, Lord, that our minds would be fixed on things above – not on earthly things – that we would not be distracted by the chaos of life and how things appear.
Lord God, please help my family’s thoughts to be in line with Your thoughts. Help them to choose truth over lies…the noble over the immoral…the right things over the wrong things…the pure over the corrupted…the lovely over the tainted…the admirable over the disapproved…the excellent over the easy….and the praiseworthy over the tolerable. Father, our minds have choices with every waking moment. We can wander into dangerous territory in our minds before our feet have taken a single step. Let us begin each journey, big or small, by taking the correct first step in our minds. We give You control over our minds, God. Only You can keep our thoughts where they need to be.
God, I pray for the attitudes of my family. I pray, Lord, that whatever may come during their days, they would fix their eyes on You. I pray that Your Spirit would shine in them even when they are frustrated, disappointed, aggravated, angry, or discouraged. I pray that their attitude would be like that of Christ Jesus, willingly facing whatever comes their way simply out of submission to You.
I pray for the attitude of my husband and my children, that in all things they would assume the best. Help them to see the good in very situation, choosing to dwell on Your fingerprints rather than the things that went wrong. I pray that they would see the glass as always half full, facing every day with optimism and recognizing the potential in every situation.
Lord, I want my family’s lives to produce good fruit, and I know that depends on the health of their thoughts. Let my family’s thoughts and attitudes be in keeping with that of Jesus, not that their lives would be perfect but that they would bring honor to You in every circumstance.
Amen.