When I was in Bible School we were made to say a prayer over ourselves every morning. It was quoted straight from the Bible, prayers which the Apostle Paul prayed over the churches he started. The concept of self-prayer is that you shouldn’t take a que sera sera attitude toward your future. If you don’t strive for God’s plan for your life, then you will simply float downstream, bumping into whatever gets in your path. I’d rather take a more proactive approach, actively seeking out what God has for me.
The prayers we stated in Bible School can be found in Ephesians 1:15–23, Ephesians 3:14–21, and Colossians 1:9–14. I have since expanded my own prayer time to include Philippians 1:6, 9–11, Philippians 3:13–15, and I also typically pray I Corinthians 13:4–8, Galatians 5:22–23, Ephesians 6:10–20, and one from the Apostle John’s first epistle, I John 1:2, and I finish with James 5:16. The whole thing takes maybe five minutes, and it’s a great way to start your day. And don’t just pray them for yourself; pray them for others in your life, like your pastors and your boss and the President. Print this out and keep it by your bed to recite until you can say it from memory, and then keep it there to remind you to pray them!
Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus. I pray for myself right now. I pray that I would endure long and be patient and kind. I pray that I would not be envious nor boil over with jealousy, that I would not be boastful or vain. Lord, I pray that I not be conceited and prideful, that I would not be rude and act unbecomingly. I pray that I would not insist on my own rights or my own way, that I would not be self-seeking. I pray that I would not be touchy or fretful or resentful.
I pray that I take no account of evil done to me and that I pay no attention to a suffered wrong. I pray that I would not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but that I’d rejoice when right and truth prevail. I pray that I would bear up under anything and everything that comes, and that I would be ever ready to believe the best of every person. I pray that my hopes would be fadeless under all circumstances, and that I would endure everything without weakening. I pray, Lord, that Your love in me would never fail, never fade out, never become obsolete, and never come to an end.
Father, I pray that I would be full of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, that my life would bear the evidence of Your love working in me. I pray that it would be obvious that I’m a Christian, simply by my actions and my countenance, not by my t-shirt or my jewelry. I pray that I would be full of Your love, joy and gladness, peace, patience and an even temper, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I know that walking in these things will keep me out of trouble.
Lord, I pray that You would grant me a spirit of wisdom and revelation, of insight into mysteries and secrets in the deep and intimate knowledge of You, by having the eyes of my heart flooded with light, so that I can know and understand the hope to which You have called me, and how rich is Your glorious inheritance in the saints, and so that I can know and understand what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of Your power in me and for me, as demonstrated in the working of Your mighty strength, which You exerted in Christ when You raised Him from the dead and seated Him at Your own right hand in the heavenlies.
I pray that You would grand me out of the rich treasury of Your glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in my spirit, by the Holy Spirit Himself dwelling in my innermost being and personality. May Christ through my faith actually dwell and make His permanent residence in my heart, and I pray that I be rooted deep in love and be founded securely on love. I pray that I would have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp what is the width, and length, and depth, and height of this love, and that I may really come to know practically, through experience for myself, this love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge; that I would be filled through all my being unto the fullness of You.
I pray that I would be strong in You, empowered through my union with You. I draw my strength from You, that strength which Your boundless might provides. I plead the blood of Jesus over me as I put on the whole armor of God, knowing full well that my fight isn’t against my neighbor or my friend or my relative; my fight is with the enemy and his demons. I pray that I would be able to resist and stand my ground against their schemes, and that after having done everything in my power to stand, that I would continue to stand with Your ability.
So I stand. I tighten the belt of truth around my waist, Your Word being the truth. I put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with You, Your Word being my source for moral guidance. I shod my feet in preparation to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news of the Gospel of peace. I lift up over all the covering shield of saving faith, with which I can quench every flaming missile the enemy would throw at me, my faith being strengthened as I hear Your Word preached. I take the helmet of salvation, my mind being renewed by the washing of the water of Your Word. And I take the sword that the Spirit wields, the very Word of God itself. All of this, so that I may be fully ready as I go about my day today.
Father, I am convinced that You Who began a good work in me will continue it until the day of Jesus Christ, right up to the time of His return, developing that good work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in me. And I pray that my love may abound yet more and more and extend to its fullest development in knowledge and all keen insight, that my love may display itself in greater depth of acquaintance and more comprehensive discernment, so that I may surely learn to sense what is vital, and approve and prize what is excellent and of real value, recognizing the highest and the best, and distinguishing the moral differences. I pray that I may be untainted and pure and unerring and blameless, so that with a sincere and certain and unsullied heart I may approach the day of Christ, not stumbling nor causing to stumble. I pray that I would abound in and be filled with the fruits of righteousness, of right standing with You and right doing, which come through Jesus Christ the Anointed One, to the honor and praise of You, that Your glory may be both manifested and recognized.
Father, I do not pretend that I have arrived yet, but I do forget those things which are behind. The water that has passed under the bridge is gone; there’s no way to get it back. Now I focus on the future, what You have for me today and in days to come. I press toward the goal to win the supreme and heavenly prize to which You have called me. And I keep this mindset and hold these convictions. And Lord, I pray that if in anything I have any attitude other than this striving for Your highest calling, that You would reveal even that unto me. Show me any area of my life in which I am not seeking Your best.
I pray that I may be filled with the full, deep, and clear knowledge of Your will for my life, in all spiritual wisdom, in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of You, and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things—that I may walk and conduct myself in a manner worthy of You, fully pleasing You and desiring to please You in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of You, with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition. I pray that I may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of Your glory, to exercise every kind of endurance and patience with joy, giving You thanks, Who have qualified and made me fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints in the Light. You have delivered and drawn me to Yourself out of the control and dominion of darkness and have transferred me into the kingdom of the Son of Your love, in Whom I have my redemption through His blood, which means the forgiveness of my sins.
And God, I pray that I would prosper in every way and that my body would be healthy as my soul continues to prosper and be healthy. Let Your Word affect a change in me, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. I know all of this is coming to pass in my life, for You said in Your Word that the earnest, heartfelt, and continued prayer of a righteous person makes tremendous power available, dynamic in its working. Thank You, Father, for working all of this in me today.
In Jesus’ Name I pray,
Amen
It’s just as easy to pray these over other people in your life. Simply substitute their name in the places you would mention yourself. And in case you’re wondering, I used the Amplified Bible to gather this wording. You can do this same thing in your favorite version.
~Jonathan
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