25 Prayers for 25 Years | Day 15 | Forgiveness for Selfish Desires and Division

By: Jonathan Mora
In today’s devotional, CCA Hollywood’s Discipleship Director, Jonathan Mora, continues our 25 Prayers for 25 Years series by cautioning us against selfish desire and division, reminding us instead to follow God’s call to humility and unity.

Scripture:

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? 

Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’? But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’”

–James 4:1-6
 

Reflection:

As I was reflecting on this topic, I thought about all the small things that caused fights and drama at school when I was young. I remember my best friend in elementary school. We were as close as possible. He was my best friend, I was his, and everyone knew it. But something unfortunate happened – we both had a crush on the same girl. This simple fact soon drove us apart. 

This seems silly and immature now, but if we are honest, things still happen today with our friends, coworkers, and families that drive us apart. We let our desires divide us, and we are left with bad feelings toward certain people. James addresses this problem in his letter. 

We see James call out believers about fights they are having with other believers – they are murdering each other because of their coveting. While they were not actually having fist fights and murdering each other, we see James pulling from the idea that Jesus emphasized on the Sermon on the Mount. He says that hatred for a brother is murder in one’s heart. This passage reveals that many early church believers struggled with desires and passions that led to disunity, often stemming from jealousy or the idolatry of things not aligned with God. 

Whether it is our finances, possessions, job, titles, or opinions, we continue to find the most trivial things to be jealous or angry about, and it drives us away from our brothers and sisters in Christ. James notes that when we value these things over God and His people, we are enemies of God! God wants and values unity and love within His church. 

But there is good news at the end of this passage – God is jealous for us! He desires us to turn to Him and seek pleasure and joy in Him, not in our own desires. James also states God is a God of grace, and if we come humbly before Him, He will forgive us. 
 
I would encourage us all to do this. Let us turn from the pettiness of our selfish desires and ask God in prayer for forgiveness. Let us ask Him to change the desires of our hearts to align with His desires to love and to be in unity with those around us. 

Prayer:

God, we come before You, and we just want to be honest.

We are so easily distracted.
We chase after things that don’t matter.
We let pride, jealousy, and selfishness divide us – sometimes over the smallest things.
We’ve fought with our brothers and sisters,
not always with fists or words,
but with cold shoulders, gossip, silent bitterness.
And that breaks Your heart.

Lord, forgive us.
Your Word says You oppose the proud but give grace to the humble.
So we come humbly, knowing we’ve messed up,
knowing we’ve chased the world more than we've chased You.
We’ve loved the approval of others,
we’ve idolized stuff,
we’ve craved things that will never satisfy.

But You…
You’re a jealous God – not in a petty way – but in a holy, passionate way.
You want us.
You want our hearts, our affection, our devotion.
And You’re willing to forgive us if we’ll just turn to You.

So we’re turning now.
We’re asking You, change our hearts.
Rip out the selfishness.
Uproot the envy.
Kill the pride that’s keeping us from loving people the way You love us.

Fill us with Your Spirit.
Give us new desires – Your desires.
Let us be a church, a family, that loves deeply, forgives quickly,
and lays down our rights, just like Jesus did.

Thank You for Your grace.
Thank You for not giving up on us.
We want You more than anything this world could offer.

In Jesus' name, Amen.
 
 
Jonathan Mora has been a part of the CCA for nearly three years and is currently the Discipleship Director at CCA Hollywood. He is passionate about the next generation. He serves alongside his wife, Lauren, to whom he has been married for 5 years. His favorite verse is 2 Timothy 4:7.
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