💰Protection from Greed, Lk 12:15, Loving God as The Antidote, Mark 12:30, Rubbing it off on Our Neibors

[Nochaeld]

Dear Lord Jesus in Heaven, thank You for warning us to beware of greed at all times, Lk 12:15. The goal of the Bible's instruction is love from a purified heart, a sincere faith and a good conscience, 1 Tim 1:5. The love of money is a scary thing to observe, having witnessed the truth of 1 Tim 6:9-10. Please "keep deception and lies far from us, give us neither poverty nor riches, but feed us what is sufficient for us," Prov 30:8. If riches increase, let us not set our heart on them, Ps 62:10, but rather be humble, know they are uncertain, and use them to be rich in good deeds, 1 Tim 6:17-18. Help us have contentment with godliness, 1 Tim 6:6, since the entire earth is the Lord's, as well as those who dwell in it, Ps 24:1. Keep us from covetousness, Ex 20:17, and help us not love the world or anything in it lest the love of The Father be forfeited, 1 Jn 2:15. Help us see that is antithetical to our highest and chief goal to love You with everything we have and evangelize the lost and rub off Your love on our neighbors, Mark 12:30-31. Keep us from the desire for other things that choke out the Word of God, Mark 4:18-19. Keep us from temptation, Luke 11:4, sin, Zeph 3:13, 1 Cor 8:1, false believers, 2 Tim 3:5 and the evil one who blinds eyes, hearts minds and the world, Rev 12:9, Matt 6:13, John 17:15, 1 Jn 5:18. Thank You in Jesus' Name, Phil 4:6-7, Amen, Rev 3:14, 2 Cor 1:20.

 

[Articles]

We join you in this beautiful and biblically grounded prayer and we thank God for the hunger for holiness and purity of heart that you have expressed. Your request aligns fully with the Word of God and we rejoice to agree with you in Jesus' name.

We are warned so clearly by our Lord when He said in Luke 12:15, Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man's life doesn't consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses. Greed is subtle and deceitful, and it promises life and security but it chokes the Word and makes it unfruitful as we see in Mark 4:18-19. The antidote you have rightly identified is love, for the goal of the commandment is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith as taught in 1 Timothy 1:5.

We love that you prayed Proverbs 30:8, Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me. This is the heart of contentment with godliness, which is great gain according to 1 Timothy 6:6. We are reminded that those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts which plunge men into ruin and destruction, and that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil as we read in 1 Timothy 6:9-10. We have indeed seen many led astray by it and pierced through with many sorrows, so we join you in asking for protection from it.

We pray together that the Father would keep our hearts from covetousness which breaks the command in Exodus 20:17, and from loving the world or the things that are in the world, for if anyone loves the world, the Father's love isn't in him as written in 1 John 2:15. We ask that if riches increase, we would not set our hearts on them as Psalm 62:10 teaches, but would remember that the earth is the Lord's, with its fullness, the world, and those who dwell therein as Psalm 24:1 declares. May we be humble and not trust in the uncertainty of riches but instead be rich in good works and ready to distribute as exhorted in 1 Timothy 6:17-18.

The true fulfillment you described is found in the greatest commandment in Mark 12:30, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength, and the second is like it in Mark 12:31, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. When we love God supremely, greed loses its power, and that love naturally rubs off on our neighbors as we evangelize the lost and reflect Christ to those around us. We pray that God would keep us from the desire for other things that choke the Word, from temptation as we pray in Luke 11:4 and Matthew 6:13, and from the evil one, for we ask as Jesus prayed in John 17:15 that the Father would keep us from the evil one, and we rest in the promise of 1 John 5:18 that he who was born of God keeps himself and the evil one doesn't touch him.

We pray now for you and for all who share this burden. Father in heaven, we thank You in Jesus' name for Your warnings about greed and for Your perfect provision. We ask You to create in us pure hearts and sincere faith. Keep deception and lies far from us and feed us with what is sufficient for us day by day. Teach us contentment and guard us from covetousness and from loving money or the world. Fill us so completely with love for You with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, that there is no room for idols, and let that love overflow to our neighbors so that they may see Your goodness and come to know Jesus Christ. Keep us from temptation and sin and from the schemes of the evil one who blinds minds, and establish us in Your truth. We bring these requests before Your throne with thanksgiving, trusting Your peace which surpasses all understanding to guard our hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus as promised in Philippians 4:6-7. We ask all this in the mighty and only saving name of Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have access to You and in whom all Your promises are Yes and Amen as declared in 2 Corinthians 1:20. Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We were so encouraged to read your prayer. The way you brought your heart before the Lord so openly, asking for contentment and for love for Him and for your neighbors to be what shapes you, really stayed with us.

Wanting to be guarded from greed is a humble and healthy desire. We hear in your words someone who has seen how the love of money can hollow things out, and who wants something better, to walk lightly with what you have, to be generous, and to keep your affection set on God and on the people He has placed around you. That desire itself is evidence of His work in you.

One small practice that has helped others with this same struggle is to notice daily provision and then turn it outward. When you sense that pull toward wanting more, pausing to thank God for what is already in your hand and then looking for one simple way to pass good on to a neighbor can gently retrain the heart toward trust and generosity.

Father, we lift our friend to You. Keep their heart close to You, guard them from deception and from the pull of wanting more, and give them steady contentment in what You provide. Make their love for You grow and spill over to those nearby. Keep them from temptation and keep them in Your care. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

Your prayer has been heard and we join you in bringing it before the throne of grace with thanksgiving. How needful is the warning of our Lord, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth, Luke 12:15. And how wise is your desire that love should be the end of the commandment, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned.

We pray with you that the Lord would keep deception and lies far from you and give you neither poverty nor riches but feed you with food convenient for you, according to Proverbs 30:8. Contentment is one of the flowers of heaven and if we would have it, it must be cultivated, and it is learned as Paul learned it, to be content in whatsoever state we are. Had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, God would have put you there, for the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof, Psalm 24:1. May He teach you how to be full and how to be abased, that if riches increase you will not set your heart upon them, Psalm 62:10, remembering that they are uncertain, but that you may be humble and rich in good works, ready to distribute, laying up treasure in heaven, as it is written in 1 Timothy 6:17 and 18.

We ask the Lord to keep you from the love of money which is the root of all evil and from the covetousness which the law forbids, Exodus 20:17, and from loving the world or the things that are in the world, lest the love of the Father be choked, 1 John 2:15. Keep us, O Lord, from the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things which choke the Word, Mark 4:18 and 19, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, Luke 11:4, Matthew 6:13.

Your chief end is well chosen, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength, Mark 12:30, and to let that love flow in the same channel as Christ's love to you. For between the true believer and Christ there is a living, loving, lasting union. When that union is sweet and real, we love one another for Christ's sake and we love sinners for Christ's sake and we love the truth as Christ loves it. So we pray that the Lord would show you His marvelous loving kindness, that you may see it with your intellect to adore Him and feel it in your heart to be comforted, and that you may then rub off that love upon your neighbors as you love them as yourself, Mark 12:31, and as you seek the lost with loving persuasion, beseeching them to be reconciled to God.

He is the living God, not a dead force or a phantom, but a God with a great warm loving heart, a thinking, active, personal God who comes into the midst of this world. He is so great that the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him and yet He condescends to dwell in broken and contrite hearts. May He dwell in you and make you a living temple, and keep you by His power from sin and from the evil one who blinds the minds of this world, and from false professors who have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof.

We commend you to Him who is able to keep you, trusting that godliness with contentment is great gain, 1 Timothy 6:6, and that He who has begun a good work will keep you until the end, for Christ will not lose His members. May the peace of God which passeth all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, Philippians 4:7, Amen.