What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. - James 4:1-3

Lord, every time I read this passage I want to say, "Really? It's that simple?" But I know it is. I cannot blame any fighting or discontent on all the people around me. I have to admit it; I have desires that well up in me and they make me work hard and fast to get them met. But here you correct me. You tell me that praying to you, oh God, ends fighting. It replaces lust with trust and brings you back into every relationship. I know this by experience. When I have prayed for what love or blessing I want from others instead of fighting for it, you either moved them to give me what I need or you changed my heart to want to serve more than be served. Prayer ends fights. Lord, help me to remember to pray about things that bother me today more than I scheme on how to fix them. Then give me eyes to see when you answer my prayer tenfold. AMEN

It's not what's happening or not happening outside of us that dictates our peace and joy. It's what is happening or not happening within us.

Additional Reading: Titus 3:3-11, Romans 7:23, Matthew 15:10-20, Ephesians 3:31-32, 1 John 3:15-24,