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Key Bible Verse: Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires ( Psalm 37:4 ). Bonus Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-10

I turned to Philippians 4:6. "It says, 'Pray about everything [even soccer]. Tell God what you need.'" I admitted to amplifying the text a little, but continued. "Just get this desire out into the light. Be honest with God about how you feel. Tell Him you want to see your picture in the newspaper every week."

"I can't pray that way!" the UConn student protested.

"Why not?" I challenged him. "The Bible says 'everything' doesn't it? When we lay it on the table—not only our needs, but also our wants, dreams, and ambitions—God handles those desires in the light of His priorities and calling in our lives."

Three months later, a letter arrived from him. "I did what you told me," he wrote. "I got honest with God. As I got it all out in the light, God did something incredible. Instead of taking the desire away, He intensified it! But He changed my motivation. Instead of wanting to glorify myself, I wanted to be the best soccer player in the world to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ!"

God will do little about your desires until you admit them to Him. Then sometimes He'll take them away from you. Sometimes He'll grant them. Sometimes He'll intensify and transform them.

—Josh McDowell in HonorBound

My Response: Which of my ambitions have I brought before God?

Thought to Apply: It is not your business to succeed, but to do right; when you have done so, the rest lies with God. —C. S. LEWIS (British scholar & author)

Adapted from HonorBound (Summer/04) by permission.

Copyright © 2005 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

I realize, Lord, that my generation's take on success is terribly superficial. Shift my sights to the deeper goals found in Your Word.

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