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How to Pray For Myself And Thrive

Do you pray for yourself? I mean more than just a breath prayer when you are in a crisis moment. For years I didn’t pray for myself either. I wandered from one crisis to the next, convinced God didn’t hear me, didn’t see me and possibly didn’t love me. Can you relate?

Today we will take a close look at the issue of praying for ourselves and see what the Bible says and how to grow a powerful prayer life and faith walk.

Where Does The Bible Say To Pray For Yourself?

We have been talking about how to create a prayer strategy that will change everything.  But we have to start out by addressing the elephant in the room…  did you see that elephant dart behind the chair hoping no one would notice and put it in its place?  The truth is that we tend to pray for others far more than we pray for ourselves.   If we are going to have a powerful effective prayer strategy we must pray over our own lives first.

I want my prayers to reaches the throne room of Heaven. I want God to answer my prayers. Don’t you? So I have to pray for myself as well!

Related Post: Create A Powerful Effective Prayer Strategy To Change Every Thing

Bible Verses About Praying For Myself

Let me say it again just to be clear. To have a powerful effective prayer strategy, to really change things, we have to pray over our own lives. But where does the Bible say to pray for yourself?

It’s so easy to believe that God doesn’t see us or that He is too busy to step into my everyday struggles and help, but the truth is so far from that!  (Read more about How to replace the Lies We Believe About God)

God sees. 

God cares. 

He is waiting for us to bring every need before Him.  And yes, Sweet Child of the King, He loves to hear about your needs!

The most obvious Bible verse about praying for myself is in Matthew.

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:36-39 NASB)

Love Your Neighbor As Yourself Means Love Yourself

Have you ever noticed that little caveat at the end of 39?

Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  To fulfill this part of Jesus’ commandment really requires that we love our-self. 

Do you love yourself?

I am not advocating selfishness or self-centeredness by any means. Hear me clearly, I am not debating self-care or self-love. I really want to just focus on prayer, but it does all tie together. Jesus said we need to love ourselves.

What does loving yourself, your spirit or soul or whatever you think of it as, look like?

But… just to hit self-care for a second, do you spend time with God every day… feeding your soul and connecting with the Lover of your soul?

Do You Love Yourself in Your Own Life?

When I meet a struggling Believer, the first thing I ask them is how their prayer life is. Then I ask how much time they spend and how often they are in the Bible. Time alone with the Lord nourishes your soul. If you are struggling in your faith walk, odds are you are not getting enough face time with God.

So If I would ask that of someone else, why am I not doing the same myself? Do I love myself enough to pray for myself? I mean, there are more than 100 things to pray for every day that I gladly lift up to HIM but I don’t ask for my own peace and joy and hope… what’s up with that?

Related Post: 27 Fasting and Prayer Scriptures for Spiritual Breakthrough

Self Love Sounds Ungodly and Prideful

I wrestled with this for a lot of years.  I did not love myself… If I were honest I would say there was nothing to love in me… can you relate?

The list of mistakes I’ve made is miles long.  The people that I have hurt way outnumber those I have helped.  Countless were turned away from the gospel because of my two-faced hypocritical living.  I cringe to think that one day I will stand face to face with God and give an account of all that mess.

Except… Grace

God’s grace is amazing.  He forgave me for every single one of those heart-wrenching mistakes.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9  NASB)

We are forgiven.  Living a life where, even when we mess up, God sees Jesus’ blood covering us.  Righteous we stand before Him – holy because Jesus is holy and He lives in us.

God loves you. 

He loves me. 

We get so focused on loving God, that we refuse to love ourselves even though HE loves us and sees us as something worth loving and dying to save in that love.

Loving yourself is not sinful or prideful, it is agreeing with God the Father that you are loved and can love.

Why I Pray For You More Than I Pray For Myself

I know I said we were not going to camp out on the topic of self-love, but Jesus said we were to love ourselves so we have to explore that.

It is loving to pray for others. We are commanded to pray over everything. Why do I pray for you more than I pray for myself?

Maybe it’s a way to protect ourselves that we pray for others more or first. Like, if we are focused on their thing we won’t be so upset about our own thing. But maybe it goes deeper than that.

Spiritual Attack

Over the years I’ve shared Scripture about Spiritual Warfare and urged you to become prayer warriors. We have a real enemy who secretly studies our lives planning a strategy to keep us from making a Kingdom difference in the world.

Some people are prone to self-absorption and may rarely notice others have needs. Others, however, easily become martyrs while serving everyone but themselves. I’m not condemning, but pointing out that the enemy knows exactly where and how to strike.

The Bible clearly tells us to pray for ourselves. When I pray for myself I protect myself from Spiritual Attacks. Maybe a ploy of the enemy is to distract me from this type of defensive strategy to keep me spinning my wheels.

Related Post: Spiritual Breakthrough: How To Choose The Suitable Type of Fasting

Pray Over Everything

We are told to pray over everything, including ourselves. One lesson I’ve learned over the years is that prayer leads to love. So even if you struggle to love yourself, when you pray over your own life you will begin to see it the way God does and love will come!

Before we begin praying over our children and our spouse, our co-workers, and our church, let’s cover ourselves in prayer. Put up a good defense against the areas where the enemy is prone to attacking and see how you grow in faith!

But, what should I pray for myself? How do I pray for myself? Let’s get specific!

How to Pray Powerful Effective Prayers over My Own Life - Prayer Strategy #StrategicPrayerPlan #Prayerguide #PrayerScriptures #SpiritualWarfare #prayHard #PrayerQuotes #PrayerWarrior #PrayerRoom #WarRoom #SelfCare

How to Pray For Myself?

How do I pray for myself? There are so many things we can pray for ourselves.  It is critical we spend time in prayer with the Lord asking Him to make clear the areas we need to cover daily.

I never leave things to be remembered, I always make a list. Writing down what I need to pray over helps me stay focused and remember better where to focus. There are just moments when I draw a blank. So, instead of wondering what should I pray for myself, I can open my notes and just pick up where I left off!

Over the next few weeks, I will take a list of things and walk through the process we learned as we began the series.

My List Of Things To Pray For Myself

I will be working through my own list. Feel free to email me or comment on other things that can be added to bless the lives of other Women.

  • A deeper hunger for the Word***
  • Ears that easily Hear God’s voice as He directs my life
  • To Daily Forgive others and be less easily offended
  • Live a Holy life set apart so my witness brings others to Christ
  • Help to love others selflessly
  • For added Wisdom in my Motherhood
    • Direction in disciplining our children
    • Unity with my husband as we set boundaries in our home
    • God’s spirit to reveal issues with our children before they become strongholds in their lives
      • For God to do that so I don’t become a control freak and destroy relationships with my children.
    • Guidance in mentoring our children so they walk as lifelong disciples
  • To be molded into a godly wife regardless of my circumstances
  • Clear direction for the ministry God has called me to
  • For good, deep friendships and community to help me grow in faith
  • Help to overcome the sin’s in my life
    • Lust
    • Jealously
    • Pride
    • Self-righteousness
    • Fear
    • Controlling Nature

These are just a few of the areas in my life that need daily prayer.  I hope by sharing them with you, and praying through them together with you, we can grow.  That way you can see how easy it is to find scripture and turn it into prayers that will change your Life!

Ask Questions to Help You Pray For Yourself

In addition to praying through the issues in your life right now, I find it helpful to ask questions. These are some of my questions and some of yours I’ve received by email since we began this series:

  • What is a short healing prayer for myself?
  • How do I bless myself with prayer?
    • Is it okay to add prayer for a new week for myself to the list?
    • Can I pray for myself to be strong?
  • What are 3 powerful prayers?
  • How do I pray for myself on my birthday?

Real quick I’m going to answer them below.

What Is a Short Healing Prayer for Myself?

When I prepare a prayer for myself I find Bible verses that address the topic. As a person who battles Auto-Immune Disease, I pray for healing often. What is a short healing prayer for myself?

“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.” (Jeremiah 17:14 ESV)

“And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” (James 5:15 ESV)

Lord, you say the prayer of faith can heal the sick. I believe YOU. You can heal who YOU want to heal. Please bring healing and strength to this body. Amen.

How Do I Bless Myself With Prayer?

We pray to bless others and send out others, why not pray to bless our own lives?

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17 ESV)

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” (Ephesians 3:20  ESV)

“You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2 NASB)

Is it okay to add prayer for a new week for myself to the list? Of course. Pour out your plans for the week asking Him to lead guide and direct your path.

Can I pray for myself to be strong? He tells us to pray for strength so we are not tempted**. He also tells us to put on the armor of God** which is a thing of strength so I say yes.

What are 3 Powerful Prayers?

There are so many powerful prayers in the Scriptures. I’ll be writing about that soon and will add a link when it’s published***

But for now, I wanted to redirect the question. What are 3 powerful ways to pray?

  1. Together:
    • Often when we need help we share prayer requests. It is a powerful thing to bring others into the prayer journey. I frequently share a prayer request for myself and my family with trusted Believers who pray. Where 2 or more are gathered He is there, which is so powerful!
  2. In writing:
    • There is power in writing down our thoughts but more power in writing down prayer. The power comes in that you can go back to it again and again. You can see when it is answered. It grows your faith.
    • There have even been times a teacher instructed me to write a prayer message for myself and let her mail it much later. Wow! It blessed me even though I wrote it myself. I encourage you to try it!
  3. Specifically:
    • Another powerful way to pray is to be specific. It’s fine to ask God to help you, but it’s more powerful to lay out the entire situation before Him. He will help give you clarity, direction,, and discernment when you are specific. It also brings great peace.
      • I know that when I lift up prayers for myself as a woman of God trying to be a godly wife and raise godly childrenI feel His hand of peace surround me. It’s like nothing else and I feel blessed powerfully!

How Do I Pray For Myself On My Birthday?

This was a question that surprised me. I pray for others on their birthday but until the question, I had not really spent time even thinking about a birthday prayer for myself. But again, if we would do it for others, why wouldn’t we consider it for ourselves?

Psalm 139 spoke to me as a Birthday prayer that would bless me and others. I encourage you to read it and then pray it back to Him and see if it helps.

The Benefits of Praying For Myself

Something amazing happens when I pray over myself, especially when I add Scripture to pray over my own life:

  • I grow closer to God.
  • Scripture memorization happens easily.
  • My identity in Christ is solidified.*
  • Fear disappears and I am able to walk in my calling.*

Did you know God has a calling in your life?  

but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16 NASB)

God has called you to… something.  Your calling will look different than my calling but it is just as important to the Kingdom of God.

Maybe God is calling you to raise your children to change the world.  He could be calling you to be a light as you work your 9-5 whatever it is.  I love the idea of everyday missionaries – shining His light at Walmart and McDonald’s and Amazon and anywhere else He has put you to work.

If you are married, God isc alling you to shine His love and forgiveness inside your marriage (easy, hard or mediocre).

The Challenge To Pray For Myself

None of these things happen well without prayer.  We live out our calling 1000% better when we are covered in prayer – even if that means we are praying for ourselves!

I am taking the challenge to pray for myself and I want to invite you along!

So let me ask you… Do you pray for your own life?  

What are some areas you are struggling to pray right now?

If the things you are struggling with are not on my list, would you drop a comment with them or email me directly so I can add them on the list to write about in this series?

in HIM,

If you enjoyed this, you will love these articles:

***pray for myself 480, Where does the Bible say to pray for yourself? What is a short healing prayer for myself? How do I bless myself with prayer? What are the 3 powerful prayers? 100 things to pray for, pray for others before praying for yourself, birthday pray for myself, prayer for myself, prayers for myself as a woman, I pray for you more than I pray for myself, prayer for myself to be strong, prayer for new week for myself, prayer message for myself, how do I pray for myself, how do I pray for myself on my birthday, what should I pray for myself, prayer request for myself and my family****

Sharing is Caring!

Tiffany Montgomery

Tiffany of Hope Joy in Christ inspires Christian Women to grow in faith, live out Biblical Marriage Principles and raise Godly Children.  Join the Wives Only Facebook Group here or keep up with her through Pinterest.

13 thoughts to “How to Pray For Myself And Thrive”

  1. I love this post, Tiffany!! Thank you so much for sharing it. I’m going to save it and come back to it again and again. I am so thankful for God’s grace, but I love how you pray for yourself. Love, love, love it!!

    1. I think it makes all the difference as we grow in Christ… I used to just pray for others and hope God would just take care of me… not that He wasn’t, but now I see when He is because He answers so specifically!

  2. Compassion,
    Patience
    Holiness
    Desire to serve, and passion to search God.
    Wisdom on my finances
    Better administrator.

  3. Tiffany, I so appreciate your thoughts on this. I have a really hard time praying for myself. I do vent to God on occasion, but that is not necessarily prayer for Him to get involved and do things. Thanks for opening my eyes to a need in my own life, to let God be more involved in helping me carry my own burdens rather than just praying for others. – Amy
    http://stylingrannymama.com/

  4. I can definitely be more committed to praying Scripture over myself as I ask for God’s direction in some upcoming decisions.

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