A Prayer to be Sober-Minded
By: Lindsay Tedder
“Be sober-minded, alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” - 1 Peter 5:8
Maybe you’ve heard the verse above?
Maybe you read it just now and thought to yourself “great…another reminder that the enemy is lurking around every corner looking to devour me. Fabulous.”
You may have even said “Ugh…been there, read that…next!”
But stick with me a minute, I think it will be worth it.
Sitting in my living room with several women during a small group, someone read this verse aloud. She was sharing her thoughts when my own began to speak so loudly inside my brain that I could no longer make out what she was saying. My brain clung to the word “anyone.” Never before had that word stuck out to me, but in that moment, it was alarmingly loud.
You see, in the eyes of the enemy, you and I are not anything special. We are “anyone” … “a dime a dozen” … “nothing to write home about.” In the eyes of the enemy we mean nothing. He is looking for literally anyone who can be distracted from their duties in Christ long enough to be devoured.
I, all too often, fall victim to the distracted mentality that quickly becomes a breeding ground for the enemy. I am a work-from-home mom to a busy toddler and the distractions of simply parenting all day can easily keep me far removed from my duties in Christ. That’s where the beginning of the verse comes into play. But what does it look like to be sober-minded and alert? If I’m honest, the sound of it just makes more tired than I already am.
What I often fail to realize is that this call to be alert and of sober mind should be my utmost priority. I should place this above everything else in my life. Before I clean the kitchen, before I make the 8000th snack of the day, before I make my beloved coffee; I should be controlling my thoughts and returning them to my Creator.
During the first couple years as a new mom, I felt anything but alert. In fact, I more often than not, just felt extremely exhausted and on the verge of failure. I didn’t comprehend that in order to be the parent that He called me to be, I had to invest in myself first. I had to show my son what it looked like to struggle, who to turn to in my time of need, and how to correct my course, in order to gain that alert and sober-minded mentality.
It helped that as I matured in motherhood, my boy was maturing in age and comprehension. We grew together during this wild ride. We created a space where he can learn by example and share in my struggles and my growth.
Are you alert and sober-minded? Take a minute and evaluate your spiritual life – what is distracting you and causing you to fix your gaze on something or someone other than Christ? Even good things like our children, our jobs and our church can pull our gaze inward instead of upward. Take a minute and pray this prayer for sober-mindness, and trust that God is eager and ready to give it to you:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for the reminder that the enemy is looking for anyone. Thank you for letting that word stand out to me that day. I realize that being alert and sober-minded is a moment-by-moment choice. I know that I easily get distracted and derailed by the chaos of this world. Please help me to surrender my thoughts to you in an effort to remain alert and sober-minded. Please help to keep me more in step with You and less distracted by the chaos of this world. Thank you for the reminder that failure isn’t really failing so much as it is learning. Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for creating me unique. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for making me your most prized possession and not seeing me as “anyone.” In your eyes, I am someone. I am your beloved child. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Lindsay Tedder is a believer, wife, mom, bestie and writer who lives in Columbus, Ohio with her bearded, bourbon-loving husband and her too-cool-for-school toddler. She is full of raw honesty, enthusiastic authenticity, amiable compassion, humble grit, powerful passion…and outrageous laughter, double chins, real life, and frothy nectar-of-the-gods coffee…because…coffee. Raised by a hardworking single mom, she overcame such trauma as sexual abuse induced food addiction, the debilitating health issues associated with endometriosis, a decade of infertility, and recurring life themes of worthlessness. Connect with her at www.LindsayTedder.com
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Originally published Wednesday, 07 July 2021.
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