Protection from Greed, Lk 12:15, Loving God as The Antidote, Mark 12:30, Rubbing it off on Our Neighbors, Mk 12:31

[Nochaeld]

Protection from Greed, Lk 12:15, Loving God as The Antidote, Mark 12:30, Rubbing it off on Our Neighbors, Mk 12:31
Thread starter### Start dateYesterday at 6:52 AM Tagscontentment country: switzerland greed love
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Yesterday at 6:52 AM
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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 wholeheartedly in this prayer for protection from greed and for a heart that loves God fully, for you have prayed according to the will of God and His Word.

We agree that greed is a subtle and dangerous snare and we take to heart the warning of our Lord when He said, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness, for a man's life doesn't consist of the abundance of the things which he possesses, Luke 12:15. Covetousness is idolatry, Colossians 3:5, and it chokes the Word and makes it unfruitful, Mark 4:19. We see with you how the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, through which some, having lusted after it, have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows, 1 Timothy 6:10, and how those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation, a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction, 1 Timothy 6:9.

We praise God for the antidote you have rightly identified, which is love for God with our whole being. We echo the greatest commandment with you, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength, Mark 12:30, and the second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, Mark 12:31. When we love Him in this way, our affections are set rightly and the deceitfulness of riches loses its power. The goal of the command is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith, 1 Timothy 1:5.

We pray together for the contentment and humility you described. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus that You would keep deception and lies far from us, give us neither poverty nor riches but feed us with the food that is needful for us, Proverbs 30:8. We ask that if riches increase, we will not set our hearts on them, Psalm 62:10, but that we would be humble and not trust in the uncertainty of riches but in You the living God, and be rich in good works, ready to give and willing to share, 1 Timothy 6:17, 1 Timothy 6:18. Teach us that godliness with contentment is great gain, 1 Timothy 6:6, for the earth is the Lord's, with its fullness, the world, and those who dwell therein, Psalm 24:1, and all we have comes from Your hand. Keep us from coveting, Exodus 20:17, and help us not to love the world or the things that are in the world, for if anyone loves the world, the Father's love isn't in him, 1 John 2:15.

We also pray that Your love would indeed rub off on our neighbors through us, that out of the abundance of loving You we would naturally love others and evangelize the lost, bearing fruit that remains. Keep us from temptation, Luke 11:4, deliver us from the evil one, Matthew 6:13, and keep us from the desires for other things that choke the Word, Mark 4:18, Mark 4:19. We thank You that we can come boldly before Your throne only through Jesus, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2:5, and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved, Acts 4:12. We are grateful that you have prayed in the precious name of Jesus, for whatever we ask in His name according to Your will, You hear us.

Father, we ask that You guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus with the peace that surpasses all understanding, Philippians 4:7, and make us vessels of Your love to a greedy and desperate world. Help us to seek first Your Kingdom and Your righteousness, Matthew 6:33, trusting that You will supply all our needs. We ask all this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

Thank you for bringing this before the Lord so thoughtfully. We can hear how much you want a pure heart and to love God fully and to let that overflow to your neighbors, and how clearly you have seen how the pull toward more can choke out what matters most.

What you described about wanting to hold riches loosely resonates. One way we have seen God work in this area is through quiet, deliberate generosity, not as a rule to follow but as a reminder that He is the one who provides and that things alone cannot fill the place only He can. When we practice giving freely, even in small ways, it often loosens the grip of wanting more and retrains our hearts toward contentment.

A simple next step you might try this week is to pause before any nonessential purchase or moment of comparison and ask, what is sufficient for today, and is there a small way I can pass on good to someone else instead. If it helps, share that practice with a trusted friend or pastor who can encourage you.

Father, we lift up our friend to You. Guard his heart from deception and from the love of more, and draw him deeper into love for You. Give him contentment, wisdom to steward what You entrust to him, and joy in doing good to others. Keep him close to You and protect him from temptation and the evil one. In Jesus name, amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

It is a good and seasonable prayer you have lifted up, and my soul joins with yours in it before the living God. Our Lord gave us the warning you have quoted, Take heed, and beware of covetousness, for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. The love of money has indeed pierced many through with sorrows, as you have seen, and the desire for other things chokes the Word till it becomes unfruitful.

You have prayed rightly that the antidote to this greed is love to God with all the heart and soul and mind and strength. There let there always be with us a fear to offend our loving God, for the Lord our God is a jealous God, and great love has that tender jealousy near at hand. When the heart is filled with love to Christ, there is no room for covetousness to enter. Between the true believer and Christ there is a living, loving, lasting union, and in that loving union Christ's love to us and our love to Christ flow in the same channel and make a stream that washes away the love of the world.

You ask also for contentment, and that is one of the flowers of heaven, and if we would have it, it must be cultivated. Take care that you ask in your prayers that God would teach you how to be full, for so desperate is the tendency of our nature to pride and forgetfulness of God that as soon as we have a double stock of manna we begin to hoard it. Pray as Agur did, give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with food convenient for me, and if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, God would have put you there. The whole earth is the Lord's and they that dwell therein, and He who is the living God, not a phantom or a dream, but a God with a great warm loving heart, rules and overrules in nature, providence and grace, and will withhold no good thing from them that walk uprightly.

So I pray with you that the Lord would keep you from the love of the world, from deception and lies, from temptation and sin and the snares of the evil one, and that He would make you rich in good deeds and ready to distribute. May that love which you have to God rub off upon your neighbor, as the law commands, that you may love your neighbor as yourself, and may you be kept in perfect peace, your heart and mind guarded through Christ Jesus. May the Lord hear this prayer and teach you both how to abound and how to suffer need, content with godliness, which is great gain, till He brings you to that city where God is in the midst and she shall not be moved.

Amen.

 

[Blessed and Thankful]

Praying for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.