Honest Things I Pray For Myself

From my experiences, the strongest Christian communities put a lot of emphasis on prayer; there are prayer gatherings, prayer lists, prayer lessons, etc. We learn how to care for others by bringing them to our Father in Heaven and seeking His guidance in hard situations in life.

But how often do we pray for ourselves?

I, for one, know that I am guilty of spending much of my prayer time praying for those around me and not once mentioning my own needs or struggles to God.

That’s a problem I need to correct.

See, the Christian community tends to forget that we’re allowed to talk to God about our own personal struggles too. We’re allowed to cry out for healing and strength and renewal. How can we effectively pray for and serve others if we don’t know how to pray for ourselves?

For today’s post, I want to share with you the ways God has been teaching me to pray for myself. I hope you’ll join me in praying for your own heart and life as well.

Help Me See You and Seek You

When I wake up in the mornings, the first thing I do is spend time with Jesus. Before I focus on reading my Bible and studying His word, I pray that He would help me see Him and be aware of His hand at work. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

God’s Word is powerful. I want my heart to be open to what He wants to teach me, and convict me of, as I study and read my Bible. So, before diving into my scheduled passage for the day or the devotional I’m doing, I simply pray: “help me see You.” After I finish my devotions, I say another prayer of “help me seek You” so that I might be living out and applying what He has laid on my heart throughout the day.

Fill Me with Your Spirit

 Ephesians 5:18-21 says, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

I don’t know about you, friend, but giving thanks for everything, and addressing fellow believers with Bible verses or singing, does not come naturally for me. I want more “self” to be poured out of my heart and more Spirit to be poured in. My desire is to reflect His joy and love and glory…not for my name’s sake, but for His.

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”—John 6:63

Lord, I Believe, Help My Unbelief

In Mark 9 a man comes up to Jesus, desperately asking for help and saying that his son is demon-possessed. He asks Jesus to remove the evil spirit from his son if He can. Jesus responds by stating that all things are possible for one who believes. Verse 24 says, “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

This man understood that he was human, and his own faith wasn’t enough. He needed a greater strength to rely on…and so do we.

As much as my prideful, human heart hates to admit it…I know I’m weak. 

I know my own faith is not enough.

It is with that understanding that I pray, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

Help Me Rest in You

Spinning off the above prayer, there are several areas of my life where I need to focus more on resting in His strength and not my own.

1.In ministry and lifestyle: John 15:4 says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” That verse makes it clear as day that I can do nothing apart from Him. If I want to be a light for Him, He must first be the light in me.

2.In how I care for others: Psalm 131:1-2 says, “O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” I cannot hold the whole world in my hands…but I know the God who can (and does). If I want to really care for others, I need to be resting in Him and seeking to reach others by reflecting His love. He should be the one at work in their lives…not me.

3.In my anxieties: Psalm 64:1 says, “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.” He is my peace and firm foundation. I want to rest in Him in the waiting and the going. Because He is my steadfast anchor in the chaos of this life.

Carry My Health and Frustrations in Your Hands

Before you panic: yes, it is 100% okay to pray for good health and blessings in this life. But we also need to be prepared to respond graciously when the answer is “no” or “wait” or “not yet.”

In Psalm 31:9-10, David prays, “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also. For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.”

David is praying for healing and strength! There is a difference between praying for your health and frustrations and idolizing them. God knows your struggles. He wants to be the strength you rely on when you are weary and spent. He does not, however, want you to rely on Him only for those reasons.

See the difference?

In verse 14 (of the same chapter) David prays, “But I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.””

It is okay to pray over discomfort and hardship, the challenge is trusting Him through it all and choosing to say “You are my God” no matter what comes.

Help Me Lean on You for Wisdom

“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.” – James 3:14

I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of people who ask me for advice throughout the week. They have tough life struggles or get themselves into a sticky situation and they don’t know what to do.

I would love to say I always have all the answers…but I don’t. In fact, if I don’t seek God for wisdom in how I respond to different things throughout the day, my answers end up being rather unhelpful and oftentimes make things even more confusing for the person than they already were.

However, when I do lean on Him for wisdom and the words to say…it’s amazing what can come from it.

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of His saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;” – Proverbs 2:1-10

Break My Heart with What Breaks Yours

As a Christian, I want to seek the outcasts in love. I want to be there for those who are struggling, hurting, and overwhelmed. It is my prayer that I would be aware of others’ needs and difficulties and not become blind or ignorant to their pain. And once I am aware of their burdens, I want to seek them in love.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I have found the Answer to all of life’s heartache, stresses, and sorrows. I know the way to Peace and hope and joy. But if I am not living in love and caring for those around me, allowing them time to see my heart’s true intentions and desires, how will they ever know?

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” – Philippians 2:3-4.

Bring Me to My Knees

The closer my relationship with God has gotten, the more I love Him. The more I love Him, the more I want to worship Him. See, the nearer I draw to Him, the better I see and understand my role in His beautiful story. I have a clearer picture of who He is and who I am in Him. Part of that, a majorly significant part, includes the reality that I am human…and He is God.

I’m playing a character in God’s story.

Wow.

I don’t want to ever forget that. I don’t want to lose sight of the reason behind my role. No matter what He does in and through me…it’s still His story, not mine.

In John Piper’s book Let the Nation’s Be Glad, he makes the following statement: “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man.”

I want to rejoice, as John the Baptist did, in the humbling of my name and the glorification of His. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” – John 3:30.

For that reason, I pray that He would bring me to my knees; that I would be convicted when taking pride in my own name instead of magnifying His.

Train My Heart to Know Your Voice

I want my life to be a reflection of God’s heart, but, as I stated above, I’m only human. To live sincerely and fully for Him I need to be attentive to His guidance and leading in my life. I know that I am not always able to recognize and follow His voice…so I pray for His intervention when my human nature is prone to ignorance.

Because even though I’m human…He’s still God.

And I want a heart that knows its Lover’s voice.