Sometime ago, I posted a devotional on a simple prayer we can pray for ourselves. It is this:

I – Incline my mind to know your thoughts.

O – Open my eyes to see your glory.

U – Unite my heart to yours that I may feel your compassion.

S – Satisfy my soul that I may not sin against you.

These are NOT practical prayers. Rather, these are relational and spiritual. A Christian atheist (One who believes in Christ but lives like He doesn’t exist) would not pray these prayers since they serve no practical purposes. He or she may pray for good health, a promotion, well behaved children, a new job and such, but would not think to pray for his/her eyes to be opened to see God more clearly!

But if you read the epistles that the Apostles have written – Paul, John, Peter – most of their prayers are spiritual in nature such as above. They lived under persecution in unimaginable conditions to the 21st American standard, and yet they hardly prayed for their conditions to improve. Rather, they prayed for the church and themselves in the manner that I shared with you above.

IOUS. You can not only pray that for yourself, but you can also pray that for those around you such as your spouse, children, and friends. Just this morning, I prayed that God will INCLINE my children’s and wife’s mind to know His thoughts. Their eyes will be OPENED to see His beauty. Their hearts will be UNITED to His to feel His compassion for the people around them. And SATISFY their soul with Him that they may not sin against Him.

The physical will soon pass away. The spiritual is what we are created for. No, it is not wrong to pray for physical needs. But the physical is there to lead us to the spiritual. Do not mix up the order and use the spiritual to improve the physical.

I’m praying for you, church! IOUS!

PH