A Prayer for Discipline in Your Time and Priorities - Your Daily Prayer - June 7
A Prayer for Discipline in Your Time and Priorities
By Laura Bailey
Bible Reading:
“You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial.” 1 Corinthians 10: 23 NLT
Read or Listen Below:
My family is coming off a time of the year I affectionately call “Maycember.” The school year is ending, so we have award programs, field days, graduations, and random dress-up days, so why not add more to a full calendar? Sport teams are participating in play-offs after an already full season, dance recitals, art shows, and celebration parties fill the tiny squares of my agenda. Oh, and let’s not forget Mother’s Day, numerous birthdays (Does anyone else feel like May has an unusual number of births?), church programs to kick off summer, and somewhere in there the million other things that must get done as a part of life: laundry, yard work, chores. Who are we kidding? These take a back burner in May, at least around here.
Are you exhausted by reading the above? Yeah, me too. Yet, no matter how hard I try to protect my family’s calendar every year, it still looks like a bomb of events exploded onto the pages. We want our children and our family to participate in numerous good things. We genuinely desire to cheer on our nephew at graduation, celebrate our girls' year of hard work by watching their recital or end-of-the-year school program, and be at events where we fellowship with family and our church community. But it’s exhausting for everyone. And if I am honest, while May might be a tad more chaotic than usual, our general pace of life has become hurried.
This leaves me to ask the following question: When there are countless opportunities, how do I make the most of my ( and my family’s) time, knowing what to prioritize and say “no” to? In our key verse, the apostle Paul warns the Corinthians to think carefully about their actions. He shares that we are free in Christ, and God’s grace is abundant, but we should not use our freedom as a license to sin. Paul addressed specifically the people who felt that, because their sins were forgiven, they could do whatever they wanted, because grace would cover all their transgressions. In this text, Paul speaks particularly to the ability to eat meat sacrificed to idols, which he says is neither right nor wrong. However, Paul is trying to convey that there are many things that we are at liberty to do as Christians, but that doesn’t mean we should do them.
“We are allowed to do anything, but not everything is beneficial,” Paul writes. What does he mean by this? In the next verse, Paul says, “ Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others,” 1 Corinthians 10:24 ( NLT). Paul desires to expose the idea, “it doesn’t hurt anyone,” to justify our actions; nothing we do is in isolation. As believers, we are called to think about how our words and deeds will affect ourselves and how they will impact others. Specifically, not making decisions solely based on what’s good for us alone, but considering what’s best for others.
When we think about these verses concerning our calendars, it pushes us to ask the question before we pencil in another thing on the calendar, “Just because I can, does that mean I should?” Most things we engage in aren’t inherently good or bad. However, if we live at such breakneck speed, calendars so jam-packed, and lives that are self-focused, that we don’t make space to linger, invest, and share the love of Christ, then we need to adjust our priorities and where we spend our time.
I invite you today to look at your calendar. Who or what gets your energy, money, and time? Perhaps we should make room for margin, space for lingering in conversation, and time for fellowship, and prioritize the eternal over the temporary.
Let’s Pray:
Heavenly Father, we love you, Lord, and we give our time and priorities to You. Thank you for allowing us to experience your mercies that renew every morning, abundant grace, and overflowing love. May we never take for granted the cost of Your son, Jesus Christ, so that we can experience everlasting life and Your grace. As your children, may we live in such a way that our calendars and checkbooks display that You are our number one priority. Help us to make room in our calendars for gospel-filled conversations, lingering time in fellowship, and opportunities to help those in need. We love you, Lord, and are so grateful that You are not a master puppeteer or manipulator and that You allow Your children freedom to act within Your sovereign will. May we make the most of every opportunity to know You and make You known. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Phtoo credit: ©createdusingAIwithChatGPT2025
She lives in Upstate South Carolina with her husband and three young girls, where she serves as director of women's ministries at her church. Her passion is teaching the Bible to women, equipping them to live with an eternal perspective. Invite Laura to speak at your next event or learn more: www.LauraRBailey.com
