Next to the Holy Spirit, no one knows your heart better than you. No one knows your hopes, your fears, your secret sins, your ambitions, or your needs better than you do. No one can impact your word for good or bad like you can. That’s why you need to pray for yourself.
The most important factor in praying for yourself is what I call “settling the question of your will,” or answering the “who’s in charge here?” question. It’s what Jesus modeled for us when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane for the Father’s will over His own.
In other words, don’t approach God in prayer so you can negotiate with Him. Don’t waste time praying about things that are clearly unbiblical. Rather, pray what you know God wants; pray what you know He will bless. When in doubt, yield in prayer to His will no matter what.
How many times have you sought God’s will in prayer so you could decide whether you intended to obey it? Why bother doing that? God won’t waste time showing you great and mighty things if all you’re going to do is form a committee or call a meeting to discuss them.
Tell God the answer is yes even before you know what the assignment is. That’s what it means to settle the question of your will. It means you’ve closed the door on negotiations with God. You tell Him you’re in, no matter what the mission is or how difficult it will be. That’s the kind of praying God will answer.
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