A Prayer for Guidance
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
— Proverbs 3:5–6
There are crossroads that come with a clear sign, and then there are the ones that don't — the ones where both paths look reasonable, or both look frightening, or one looks easy and the other looks right and they aren't the same. I've stood at enough of those crossroads to know that the hardest part isn't choosing. The hardest part is admitting I don't know. I'd rather have a wrong answer than no answer at all, and that impulse has led me into more trouble than the crossroads themselves ever did. The wiser thing, the harder thing, is to stand still long enough to ask.
Lord, I don't know what to do here.
I have turned it over and over in my mind, and I'm no closer to an answer than when I started.
So I'm asking you. Not for the whole map — just the next step. One step I can see. One step I can take.
Clear the fog enough for that much. Quiet the noise of everybody else's opinions long enough for me to hear yours.
And if the answer is wait — if the answer is not yet — give me the patience to stand still without calling it failure.
I trust you. Even when I can't see where this road goes, I trust the one who laid it.
Show me where to put my foot.
Amen.
The promise isn't that the path will be obvious. It's that the path will be directed. Those are different things. Obvious means I can see it from here. Directed means someone who can see further than I can is steering. Most of the time, the guidance comes one step at a time — not a floodlight on the whole road, but a lantern on the next ten feet. And that's enough. It has to be enough, because that's how trust works: not seeing the destination, but believing the one who said follow me.
For the crossroads you're standing at right now. Ruby writes a short devotional every morning for the same kind of ordinary uncertainty — a verse, and a few plain words for the day ahead. You can subscribe — it's free, or stay a while and read more of her writing.
When the way forward isn't clear, these mornings might help: