For nine years, I worked in the financial services industry where I assisted with financial and estate planning. Most of our clients were those with a high net worth who were either retired or approaching retirement, and let me tell you, you can learn a lot about a person by observing how they handle their stuff. I saw everything from adult children who blew through their entire inheritances in a matter of months to retired millionaires who were constantly worried that they didn’t have enough.  Over the years, I learned something by watching my clients: How you value money is far more important than your money’s actual value, and the handful of people who had a biblical view of money always seemed to have enough.

But even though I could recognize the flawed thinking when I saw others struggle with money, it didn’t keep me from struggling myself. I still had those days when I lusted after something I couldn’t afford and wished I could spend more. I still got frustrated when unexpected expenses came up and wished I could spend less. Without a constant, everyday reminder, it’s easy to forget God’s truths about money.

So when those moments of forgetfulness creep up and I am tempted to think that I don’t have enough stuff or my hands are holding too tightly to the stuff I do have, I started praying this simple 5-word prayer to quickly put it all back into perspective:

Not my stuff, but yours.

Several years ago, I had a Bible study teacher who read Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” Then he asked us to raise our hands if we owned a car. Almost all of us raised our hands. He read the verse again, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it,” and asked, “How many of you own a computer?” Again, most of us raised our hands.

He continued the survey asking how many of us owned homes, clothes, microwaves, books, jewelry, you name it. But after every question, he reread Psalm 24:1. Slowly, we understood, and when he asked, “How many of you own anything?” finally no one raised their hands.

Not my stuff, but yours.

When you pray, “Not my stuff, but yours,” you are reminded of and acknowledge several things:

• Everything belongs to the Lord
• He allows you to manage his stuff
• While you are accountable for how you manage his stuff, he is not accountable to you. He gives and takes away at his own discretion.
• You will trust him, honor him, and praise him when he gives as well as when he takes away.

This is a prayer that is just as practical for a tornado victim as it is for a mom who is grocery shopping. It can apply to those living in penthouses and those living in someone’s guest bedroom. It is useful for the 12-year-old boy mowing yards during the summer as well as the 75-year-old widow living off her husband’s pension.

No one is immune to this struggle with money and materialism and greed and desire. It affects us all, and we all need a quick, easy way to remind ourselves of the bigger picture. It all belongs to God.

So when you pray, “Not my stuff, but yours,” it’s your way of telling God and reminding yourself that your hope lies in Him, your Provider, and not in the provisions. “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21).

Q: What do you pray when you’re tempted to place your hope in your stuff rather than in God?

Read the entire 5-word prayers series

Introduction to 5 Word Prayers
1. Not my will, but yours
2. Not my timing, but yours
3. Not my day, but yours
4. Not my reason, but yours
5. Not my stuff, but yours
6. Not my way, but yours
7. Not my job, but yours
8. Not my glory, but yours