A Prayer for Protection from Bad Influences

Father, I can feel myself being pulled. There are voices and habits and people in my life right now that are slowly steering me toward someone I do not want to become, and I am asking You to guard me from the drift.

I confess I have made peace with too much. I have laughed at things that harden me, kept company that drags me down, and told myself I was strong enough to stay close to the edge without falling. I have not been.

So I ask You to protect my heart from what is quietly corroding it. Give me the courage to step back from what is harmful, even when it costs me, and the wisdom to know the difference between a true friend and a slow undoing.

Your word warns that bad company corrupts good character, and I would rather hear that warning now, while I still can change course, than learn it the hard way down the road.

Surround me with people who pull me upward and a conscience that will not stay quiet. Keep me tender where the world wants me cold, and whole where it wants me compromised. Amen.