A Prayer

Through the intimacy of our relationship, you are being transformed from the inside out. As you keep your focus on Me, I form you into the one I desire you to be. Your part is to yield to my creative work in you, neither resisting it or trying to speed it up... Hold my hand in childlike trust, and the way before you will open up step by step.

-Sarah Young (emphasis added by me)

I love you Lord. I want to please you. Form me into the one You desire me to be so I can please you. I'm back to where I was when I first gave my life to you, when I had no idea how I was going to do that or what it would look like. So I prayed over and over, "Make me what You want me to be so that I can obey You."

Now again I find myself in way over my head, so once more I find myself praying "Make me what You want me to be so I can please You." I want to please You. I want to submit. I give up! I am Yours to do as You please, with my time, my thoughts, my writing, and my relationships. Help me submit.

I can trust You. This is nothing I cannot bear with your strength within me. You are good and You have good plans for me. You are ever so gentle with me, and I can wholly and completely trust You. Your will is perfect. You know just the perfect, most loving thing for me. So I submit to You. God, I am yours. Help me.

* * *

Years ago, when I was much younger, I gave my life to God. But I have been feeling frustrated lately. Everything seems to be going wrong, just one thing after another. I have been discouraged that my commitment to Him does not seem to be enough to enable me to face these challenges with the confidence and acceptance of God's will.

I'm fighting Him and struggling to make things work the way I think they should, and making myself miserable! But I realized that I really do want to please Him. I want to be at peace with His will, but I just can't get myself to do it! How do I accept God's will when I have a strong will of my own?

And then the answer hit me like a ton of brinks. All I have to do is ask!How simple! And yet so hard to remember sometimes. When I first asked God into my life, asking for help was always the first thing I would do. As I've grown older, though, it has fallen lower and lower on my list of "things to do".

I used to pray "Make Your will my heart's desire". I wanted not only to do His will, but to actually desire it for myself, as if it were my own will, and I wanted to even find joy and pleasure in doing His will. And He answered my prayers. Doing His will became easy, and pleasing! But I have stopped praying these prayers. And now, I realize I need to start again.

Lord, I want Your will to be my very heart's desire. Make me want what You want. Let Your will be my joy and delight.