Father God, turn my eyes away from vanity. Why does my gaze perpetually linger in the territory outside the boundaries of peace? It is not a happy existence to be so overly self aware and so shamefully unaware of Your presence, Lord. I have known, because You have shown me, that true satisfaction only rests on me when I abide in You. Why concern myself with how the world views me when all that really matters is if they see You in me? Others may find their fill of happiness in this world’s attractions and let me not deny them that, but my own soul is quickened at the sound of Your voice and the protection of Your Word. Others may enjoy self-exalting pursuits, but my truest delight is in the higher sphere where Your heart beckons me. Let me lay aside shallow frivolity and purposeless enjoyment because there is joy in holiness; there is ecstasy in reflecting You, Jesus. My renewed soul cannot thrive on vanity’s pathway. Only in communion with You can I truly exist in the fullest measure of blessedness. My Lord, help me to desist in giving my enemy an advantage when I fix my gaze on the vanity which starves my soul and depletes me of peace. Let me stand in Your shadow so that my eyes forever focus on Your glory and my feet move in the direction of Your will, not tripped up by vanity’s stumbling blocks. Under the Word given in Psalm 31:30 and the authority of Christ Jesus, I pray.

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Psalm 31:30, ESV