A Prayer for Wise Counsel When You Need to Make a Decision - Your Daily Prayer - September 30
A Prayer for Wise Counsel When You Need to Make a Decision
By Keri Eichberger
Bible Reading:
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. - John 14:16-17
God has always been my go-to in every big and small decision I have ever needed to make.
Wow, that sounds so good, doesn’t it? And I wish it were actually true. But it’s just not. It’s become a goal for sure. One that I'll likely be working toward until I meet Jesus. But the truth is, at some point in the past I got really good at summoning several sources whenever I had to make a hard decision. Or even small ones. Which, of course, always became bigger when I’d receive a wide range of opinions. Also adding fuel to the flames of obsessive uncertainty and conflicting feelings over what was once a much smaller dilemma. My stress would grow, along with doubt and what-ifs on both ends of the spectrum. Not that it’s all bad to ask for advice and seek assistance. But considering the sources, it most definitely could go south. Bad advice leading to potentially more rocky results and unsettling circumstances.
What I always needed was a wise counselor to direct and guide me. To save me from the excess struggle and stress. I needed God and didn’t really know it.
Has God always been your go-to in your decision-making? Or does that just sound like a great life goal to you, too? I get it. And, I don’t remember the exact age I was when I learned about the wise counsel I had available to me at all times. But what I can tell you is that it was sometime after I received Jesus into my heart. And I can also confidently tell how much it’s changed my life. Because of John 14:16-17, which reads, And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Before I fully accepted Jesus, I didn’t fully know him. I floundered through life and all of its constant and hard decisions. Anxiously. Aimlessly. Trying this way and that, looking to the world for cues and clues to move forward in life. Eventually falling and failing over and over. Lacking peace, swelling with unease, and surrounded by an uncertain-looking future. Not fully understanding or seeing the truth. I had no idea how to access this true and Godly guidance to counsel my every move, my every choice, and my every difficult decision. This helper is the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit who helps me now. Now that I know and acknowledge he is there. Now that I seek him.
I’ve now known this for a while, and I am so thankful. And maybe you’ve been filled with the Spirit for some time too. But it could also be, just like the rest of us, that you have forgotten this truth a time or two as you’ve come across new or more difficult decisions in your recent days.
I’d like to encourage and remind us both today, that though God gave us so many wise precious people in our lives—many of them full of solid biblical and spirit led advice—as a child of God, you have an almighty helper within you too. You have the gift of the Holy Spirit. If you are richly remaining in him, he will always and ultimately lead you precisely where he wants you. Never underestimate the power of his presence living in you. Never underestimate the promptings he places on and in you as you wholeheartedly seek his help and assistance. And never underestimate the truth that he will always, always, always be in you—to counsel you, to comfort you, and to forever fill you.
Let’s pray:
Lord God,
You are a wonderful counselor. When I accepted your son into my heart as Lord and Savior, you gave me the gift of your spirit. You gave me an advocate to help me and be with me forever. The spirit of truth. Lord, help me to look to you and your truth whenever I need to make a decision. Help me trust that you will always guide and direct me exactly where you want me. Lord, I thank you that I can trust you to take care of me no matter where the path leads, because I am in you, you are in me, and you always will be.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Aarón Blanco Tejedor
Related Resource: Let God Reframe Your Year: A Psalm 107 Year-End Reflection
As we wrap up our year together, I want to invite you into this meaningful spiritual practice: looking back on the year through the lens of Psalm 107 to identify the “fingerprints of God’s faithfulness. In this episode, we'll walk through four redemptive storylines found in Psalm 107—each representing a way God rescues, restores, and reorients His people. Whether you felt lost, trapped, wounded, self-destructive, or overwhelmed by storms, I encourage you to reflect on how God met you in weakness and brought deliverance. This episode is part of our How to Study the Bible Podcast, a show that brings life back to reading the Bible and helps you understand even the hardest parts of Scripture. If this episode helps you know and love God more, be sure to subscribe to the How to Study the Bible Podcast on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
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