So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. [Be set apart for Him.] Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out [transformed by the renewal of your mind]. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. ~ Romans 12:1-2, MSG
O Lord, You are my God. You are my Redeemer, my Counselor, my Prince of Peace. You are my Savior and my Lord. I yearn to be set apart for Your glory — to be a light in the darkness, the sweet aroma of Christ for those I encounter along the way.
These are the desires of my heart.
But my life feels like a mess.
Not in its entirety, but on any given day I can be overcome by a bad attitude, words spoken without thought of harm. The things I want to do, I don’t do, and the things I don’t want to do, I do!
It’s so frustrating because I know better.
I don’t want to be a wimp in the face of the enemy. I want to be steadfast and sure, faithful in all things that You have asked of me. I want to be a force to be reckoned with because of YOUR Spirit within me.
I want to be set apart for You — consecrated, sanctified for Your glory.
Transform me, Lord, through the renewal of my mind. Let my focus be on You. Call me to feast at Your table where I may partake of Your daily bread — Your living Word that transforms, renews, and restores.
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Create in me a hunger for Your Word, a thirst for more of Your Living Water. Transform me into Your image from glory to glory, through every mountaintop and ensuing valley.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord. Set me apart that others may see You in me and be drawn to Your love and the knowledge of Your saving grace.
I ask that You accept my life as an offering to You — the good, the bad, and the ugly. I realize this is a process, not a snap of the fingers. The more I make You Lord and seek after Your righteousness, the more I will be transformed — being set apart for You will become more evident.
I want to be a blessing to You, Lord. Magnify Your Name in me.
In Jesus’s Name I pray,
Amen
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Please don’t carry your burdens alone. I would be honored to pray for you. You may contact me directly at nan@nanjones.com
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Thank you so much for stopping by. I would love for you to share what’s on your heart in the comments below. Scroll a little farther down and you’ll see where you can leave your comments. Together, we can find the nearness of God in our darkest moments.
Sweet blessings to you,
Thank you, Nan. I too desire to be set apart. I understand bad attitudes. I understand wanting to give up and stop seeking and growing. I am praying for you. Please remember me to the Father. I can pray for everyone else. It’s so hard to pray for myself. I hear words like die to yourself, make your life a living sacrifice, but it’s hard, so hard. I broke 2 ribs and in between them, a muscle tear. I hurt and going a little stir crazy in my house, but mediating on Scripture. It helps me. You are a great encouragement to me. I love the way you write. Keep writing. It’s God reaching out and healing wounds. Thank you, sis. Keep on, keepin on.
You are so precious. Thank you for your kind words. I’m so sorry you are injured. I had no idea! That must be so painful. During this time of healing rest in Jesus and hide beneath the shadow of His wing. It’s a very comfortable hiding place 🙂
Hello Nan, thank u for your encouraging prayers. i need help to pray to the Father, i have been born again for over 45 years n i still can not pray, i hate praying cos my words hit the ceiling n go no futher n thats why i hate praying, my prayers seem so dull n lifeless, its horrible, so i dont pray very much at all, it brings me to despair all the time, so my biggest prayer is just ‘ HELP ME JESUS” cos i say that with sincerity. The Bible says to confess our sins one to another, so i confess this lack of praying to u now,. i know Jesus is revealing things to me, about me that i dont like about myself. i am so full of myself, i can see that n i need the victory over myself to surrender myself, to ignore myself n choose Jesus instead in every moment of my life, please pray for me. God Bless your ministry.
Please forgive me for taking so long to get back to you. My husband has dementia and my world gets a bit crazy at times!
I think your prayer, “Help me, Jesus!” is a perfect prayer when it’s spoken from the heart. When I am too overwhelmed to pray, I often just speak the Name of Jesus over and over again. He responds by drawing near and comforting me. Jesus knows my heart, just as He knows yours. The enemy does NOT want us to pray, therefore if he can make you think your prayers are not good enough for the Father, then he has won. Don’t let him! Prayer is simply a conversation with the Lord. He doesn’t want piety and religious verbiage. He wants to talk with His child … He wants to talk with you because He loves you. I encourage you to read through the psalms often. David is a wonderful example to me of how to pray. He told the Lord exactly how he felt: anger, frustration, joy, discouragement … He spoke to the Lord with honesty. Then he reminded himself who God is: his refuge and strength, his light and salvation, etc. And always David ended with praise. Praise and thanksgiving is an essential ingredient in prayer. When we can’t thank the Lord for our circumstances, we can always thank Him for who He is — He is my shelter in the storm, He is our provider, He is faithful and good. Ask the Lord to teach you to pray, to let go of religious ideology and just talk with Him. He loves to instruct and guide His children. I’m stopping to pray for you right now. Sweet blessings to you, Nan
I really need Jesus in my life right now
Bless your precious heart. Did you know that already, the Lord is searching your heart and knows all of your anxious thoughts. You are beautifully and wonderfully made. He knows your going-ins and your coming-outs, and He knows the giants you are facing in your land. My favorite name for the Lord is El Roi, The-God-Who-Sees-Me. This name was revealed to Hagar, the young maidservant of Abraham and Sarah who was exiled from the family camp because of matters beyond her control. The Scriptures(Genesis 16) tell us that the Spirit of the Lord FOUND her in the wilderness. This implies that He was seeking after her in her wilderness place. He is seeking after you, also.
The Lord wants to be known by you, He wants to reveal Himself to you in tangible, personal ways. It begins with an honest conversation. Tell Him. Tell Him your fears, your regrets. Tell Him the longings of your heart and ask Him to forgive you for where you may have fallen short. He draws near to the brokenhearted and those crushed in spirit. When you speak the Name of Jesus … He responds. Always.
No valley is so deep that He cannot reach you. No sin is so great that He cannot forgive you and restore you to Himself. His love is beyond measure. Know that I am praying for you right now. He promises that if we open our mouths, He will fill it. Open your mouth, dear one. Open your heart and let the Living God come in through His Son Jesus Christ. You are loved. Sweet blessings to you, Nan