God, Lead Me in the Right Direction: 9 Prayers for Guidance
I recently drove ten minutes to the North Country Trail for an hour of hiking beneath the naked arms of the hardwoods. As I walked, I considered my life, my daily rhythms, and the state of my soul. “God, lead me in the right direction in my life,” I prayed.
Every few months, I slip away to talk to God about the direction of my life.
Mostly, I want the assurance that I’m walking according to God’s plans.
Perhaps you need this space, too. Today, we’ll talk about how to find God’s direction and the importance of seeking his guidance.
God, Lead Me in the Right Direction
We all need spaces where we can step back and assess whether we’re living according to God’s guidance.
Are we carrying the joy and enthusiasm we hope to exude? Do our bad moods and self-centered desires lead us to snap at our kids, grumble at our close friends, and ignore the strangers God places in our paths? Are we being the people we want to be in this world?
As I walked through the woods, I realized that my life lacked the joy and peace I longed for.
It had been a day of breaking up fights and barking orders. A day of working with all my might to accomplish my agenda with little regard for the fact that each day is not mine alone. I’d been too self-absorbed to release my plans and remember my kids, to remember it was their day, too.
These thoughts led me to pray the following prayers as I sought God’s direction. If you’re seeking God’s guidance in some area of your life or simply creating space to assess your everyday rhythms, I invite you to talk with God using these prayer points, too:
God, Lead Me in the Right Direction Prayers:
1. God, does my life exude the love, joy, and peace with which you have called me to live?
Assess whether you feel joyful, loving, fulfilled, and peaceful. If not, talk to God about it. What does he want to show you? Where is he leading?
2. Lord, show me which parts of my daily rhythms are not working for me.
Do you feel overly tired? Are you having trouble sleeping? Have you been escaping into food, social media, alcohol, fantasy, or something else? Where is God leading you when it comes to changing your rhythms?
3. Father, are the ways I’ve been seeking you leading me to life-giving encounters with you?
A friend once asked me if the ways I was seeking God were leading me into life-giving encounters with him. I realized I was mostly going through the motions when I read my Bible and prayed.
My friend challenged me to change the ways I was seeking God. This changed my life. For ideas, join me here.
4. In which areas of my life have I become complacent?
Ask God to show you if you have become apathetic or complacent in any realm of your life. Have you stopped praying for your coworkers or seeing your job as a ministry? Have you forgotten your “why” or lost sight of your calling? What does God want you to know?
5. God, are you calling me to step out in faith in any areas right now?
Perhaps you’ve grown too comfortable in your life. I regularly ask God to show me if he is calling me to step into risk. He often shows me new ventures into which he is calling me. It’s easy to ignore these nudges when I let myself become too comfortable.
6. Are there any unconfessed sins in my life?
Keeping our confessions up-to-date is healthy. At times, unconfessed sin keeps us from finding God’s direction. Regularly ask God to show you if there are unconfessed sins in your life. If he reveals something to you, repent. Confess your sin to him, turn away from it, and receive his forgiveness.
7. Am I feeling stuck in any way?
Do you feel stuck in any area of your life? Talk to God about it. He wants to set you free. What practical step can you take today to get un-stuck?
8. What do I long for and desire right now?
Our longings and desires can be sinful, but they can also be seeds planted by God. I regularly step back to assess my longings. At times, I recognize longings such as the longing for close friendships, the longing for more playful fun, the longing for time with my husband, or the longing for solitude.
Listen to these longings. If they align with biblical teaching and seem to be from God, ask him to help you follow them.
9. God, what do you want me to know about my calling right now?
God wants to show you things you do not know. He wants to give you his heart for your family, friends, coworkers, and community. Ask him to show you what he wants you to know about your calling. He will reveal himself to you.
I left the woods after sorting through these questions with a lighter heart and an increased sense of direction. I encourage you to take the time to work through these questions, too. God wants to direct your paths.
A Free Devotional to Help You Find Space to Pray, “God, lead me in the right direction.”
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