Tag: control

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Curb Anxiety

All-Powerful Lord,
As Christmas and the end of the year draw closer, it isn’t uncommon for anxiety levels to rise. Deadlines loom and time-sensitive tasks need to get done. When we mix in our tendency to eliminate any margin in our lives by overcommitting and overscheduling, we have a recipe for disaster.

Some may struggle with anxiety more than others, but the remedy is the same: shifting our attention away from ourselves and/or the problem and on to you, the solution. When worry starts to set in, train us to counter it with gratitude by reflecting on your goodness to us. Grant us also the proper perspective to see where our concerns fit in over the timeline of eternity, so that we don’t inflate their importance.

Fill us with feelings of peace as we are reminded of your promise to work out all things – including that which stresses us out – for the good of those who love you. Finally, while we like to imagine ourselves at the wheel, controlling all things in our lives, remind us that you alone rule over the entire universe, from the small daily details to the less frequent large scale events. Therefore, whatever is on my plate today or any other day is never too big for you to handle.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Let Go of Control

Mighty Ruler,
Each day is filled with a variety of events. Some of those events are repeated and familiar, while others are new and unexpected. Some of them affect me directly or indirectly, while other events will have little or no effect on me at all. 

And, while I am responsible for my own actions, remind me that I am not ultimately the one in control. When I forget that and imagine that my decisions and actions are the sole predictors of everything that will happen, I am only deceiving myself. When I believe the lie that I am the one in control, I am inclined either to puff up with pride over every beneficial outcome, as if it was my own doing, or get caught up living in an endless loop of regret, imagining all the different scenarios that could have played out if I had just done something differently in that past. 

I am not in control, Lord; you are. Humble me with that reminder so that I can find real peace, not in pretending that I am in charge, but rather in the calm confidence that comes in trusting that you are. You promise to work out all things for my good. Let me rest in that assurance – something that I can actually control. Grant me contentment in managing and controlling how I respond and react to the events around me, and may that always be with patience and grace, so that I reflect you to others. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.