Prayer to develop discernment in a dark world
Written by Lynette Kittle
Bible reading:
“Have nothing to do with the futile deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” – Ephesians 5:11
Listen or read below:
Sadly, and tragically for humanity, people prefer darkness. Let’s look around at the influence of popularity in our culture and the world and see how millions of people are drawn to it.
As John 3:19 explains, “This is the judgment: Light came into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
Although some Christians laugh at it, the darkness and evil in the world is real. Ever since the extinction of humanity, people have been flocking to it, getting caught up in it, deceived by it, and drawn to it.
As a child, I loved singing the children’s church song “1-2-3 The Devil’s After Me.” Not because I liked the message, but because it was catchy and fun to sing. Now that I’m an adult, I realize the truth explained in that simple song.
The devil has been chasing us since the fall of Adam. We need God to give us discernment to tell the difference between light and darkness. We cannot rely on our own understanding to distinguish between good and evil. Because even if you think you’re too educated or too spiritual for that, like Eve, you can still be fooled.
5 ways to cultivate discernment in your life
We need the Holy Spirit to help us because we cannot trust in our own understanding to distinguish between darkness and light. Here are four ways you can cultivate discernment in your life.
1. Ask God for discernment. King Solomon asked God for discernment in 1 Kings 3:9, and so can we. “Give, then, your servant insight to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who can rule this great people of yours?”
2. Feed on God’s Word. Reading, studying, and applying God’s Word in our lives will help us develop discernment and be able to distinguish between good and evil.
As Hebrews 5:14 says, “But solid food is for mature people, who have been trained by constant eating to discern good from evil.”
Paul describes in Acts 17:11 how people knew how to compare what was being preached with the Word of God. “Now the Jews of Berea were of a nobler character than the Jews of Thessalonica, for they received the message with great zeal, and searched the Scriptures every day to see whether what Paul was saying was true.”
3. Test the spirits. There are false prophets today and throughout history who are led by evil spirits to deceive people and lead them into darkness.
1 John 4:1 urges: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but try the spirits to see if they are of God, for there are many false prophets out in the world.”
A major red flag that reveals a false spirit is the absence of Jesus’ death and resurrection. 2 John 1:7 warns: “I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not recognize that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Every such person is a deceiver and an antichrist.”
Similarly, 1 Timothy 4:1 points out, “The Spirit clearly tells us that in later generations some will forsake the faith and follow the teachings of deceiving spirits and demons.”
Galatians 1:8 is even clearer. “Even if we or the angels from heaven preach any other gospel than the one we preached to you, let them be under the curse of God.”
4. Stay in God’s light. We can choose to remain in God’s light. 1 John 1:5-7 elaborates:
“This is the message we have heard from God, and we declare it to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in Him. If we walk in darkness and claim to have fellowship with God, we are lying and not practicing the truth. But if we walk in the light, as God is in the light, we will have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Let’s pray:
Dear father,
Thank you for calling us out of darkness into your glorious light, for sending your Son Jesus to save us, and for the Holy Spirit helping us to distinguish between light and darkness.
Lord, today and every day, I ask You to give me discernment, study Your Word, test my spirit, and guide me every day to choose to abide and walk in Your light.
Help us to discern good from evil, and to recognize and resist the darkness when it tries to tempt and hunt us down.
In the name of Jesus,
Amen
Photo credit: ©Unsplash/Severin Höin
Lynette Kittle is married and has four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her work has been published in Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and elsewhere. She holds a master’s degree in communications from Regent University and is an associate producer at Soul Check TV.
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