A Prayer to Live an Unfiltered Life - Your Daily Prayer - October 4
A Prayer to Live an Unfiltered Life
By Betsy St. Amant Haddox
“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” - 1 Peter 3:3-4
We live in a filtered world. A world that no longer accepts reality and instead demands that women master the charade.
Thanks to Snapchat, women no longer even have to post a picture of their actual selves. With a few swipes they can suddenly become a woodland fairy with butterflies nestled in their hair, don a crown of flowers, or turn their features into an adorable puppy. There’s obviously nothing wrong with fairies and puppies. But why do you want to look like one? “It’s fun,” you said. “It’s silly. I’m just playing around.”
That’s fine too—if that’s true. But how many of women are telling the truth in those moments? I think deep down, if we really dig beneath the surface of the lighthearted “look at my silly post, I have polka-dotted ears and a button nose” we’ll realize that we’re hiding. We duck behind one mask after another, secretly wishing we could use these filters in real life and permanently hide.
The theme of 1 Peter 3:3-4 this verse is found in the phrase “your beauty should not come from”—meaning, don’t let your identity be your outward beauty. Don’t let those efforts or those items define you and your worth and become more important than the condition of your heart.
Trust me—this isn’t an overnight fix, ladies. It’s hard to retrain our hearts and shut up the lies of the enemy. But the effort is worth it. So let’s stop hiding. Let’s put down the mask and the excessive use of products that hide instead of enhance. Let’s stop playing the comparison game that’s a guaranteed lose-lose.
Let’s live unfiltered. Let's pray.
Lord, help me live an authentic life. Help me see where my true beauty and worth lie – in being a child of the Most High God. Help me have the unfading beauty of a gentle spirit. Thank you for valuing me so much that you sent Jesus to die for me. Thank you that you take what is broken and ugly in me – my sin – and wash me white as snow. Help me live to glorify you, not myself. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.
Editor’s Note: Portions of this devotional were taken from Betsy St Amant’s article, Living an Unfiltered Life in a Filtered World. You can read that piece here.
Photo credit: ©SalemDesign
Related Resource: What If God’s Heart Toward You Is Kinder Than You Think?
In this episode of Talk About That, you will laugh along with stories about children’s books, volleyball mornings, St. Patrick’s Day, and even the questionable legacy of the Power Team, but underneath the humor is a thoughtful conversation about one of the deepest questions of faith: how God truly sees us. John and Jonnie reflect on weakness, mercy, and the struggle many believers feel in accepting that God is not only patient with them, but genuinely pleased to call them His own. It’s an honest, encouraging reminder that our relationship with God is not built on performance, perfection, or “having it all together,” but on His love, grace, and fatherly delight in His children. You'll come away challenged to see yourself less through the lens of self-criticism and more through the steady, compassionate eyes of a God who knows you fully, loves you deeply, and may just be rooting for you more than you realize. If you laughed out loud listening to this episode, be sure to follow Talk About That on Apple and Spotify!
