A Prayer about Itchy Ears and Loving the Word
Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage— with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
(2 Tim. 4:2–3 NIV)
Lord Jesus, many times when I read this Scripture, I immediately think of certain characters on TV whose perversions of the gospel raise my ire and dander like nothing else. In my heart I can become a serial killer of certain televangelists quick- er than I can swat a mosquito. I confess this as sin, Jesus. I’m not boasting about or justifying my attitude.
But today, as I meditate on this Scripture, I’m looking in the mirror, not at the TV. What do I do when my ears get itchy— when my demand for pleasure, relief, or getting my way is stronger than my commitment to your glory? What do I do when the Scriptures say one thing and yet my wandering, bored, selfish heart yearns for something else?
Jesus, I know who to call when I want to hear what I want to hear: my code pendent friends who are more afraid of disappointing me than they are committed to speaking the truth in love. I know what authors to read, what podcasts to listen to, what blogs to visit when I want a “second opinion”— that is, when I want to suit my own desires rather than serve the purposes of God.
Jesus, continue to prepare me for in-season and out of season living. Deepen my love for and submission to the Word. I ask you to correct, rebuke, and encourage me with the gospel every single day. Show me yourself in every portion of the Bible, for that’s where the soundest doctrine will be found.
Lastly, Jesus, help me be a better friend to my friends. I don’t want to be one of the very first people they call when they simply want to hear what they want to hear. I don’t want to be an ear-scratching friend but a good friend— a gospel friend. I pray in your holy and loving name.
Amen.