I was once told not to drag my past into my future. But, wait, isn’t my past part of who I am today? And while there are plenty of things from my past I wouldn’t care to repeat, including hard times and heartaches, there were also wonderful times and even joy. Yet, I can see there are emotional weights I should stop dragging around, including worries, problems, burdens, failure, regrets, shame, grief and despair.
So instead of letting these weights sink my future, I’ve decided to shed every weight by putting each of them into a gift box with God’s name on it. Not only is God a problem solver; He is also a miracle worker who longs to see us let go of all that would hold us down. Let’s pray:
Dear Lord,
It’s time to take off every weight. I give You each of my worries, problems and burdens including (fill in the blank), and present them as a gift to You. Thank You for taking them. I feel lighter already because You can carry, resolve and turn them into miracles.
I also give You my failure, regrets and shame, including (fill in the blank), and lay them at Your feet. Please turn these weights into healthy seeds of miracles.
In addition, I give You my grief, despair and disappointments, including (fill in the blank). In the name and the blood of Jesus, I also come against the spirit of trauma and self-pity that would overtake me. In exchange, please give me peace as I learn to trust You more.
Lord? May I also present my disappointments, fear and hopelessness to You, concerning (fill in the blank)? Even if the enemy of my soul brought these burdens and weights into my life, You can cover them with peace and give me hope as well as a future. Help each of my former weights become stepping stones into a brighter future.
And finally, Lord, I give You my anger, malice, self-loathing and bitterness concerning (fill in the blank). Set me free from these prisons, even if it means I must forgive You for allowing the difficulty, forgive another for introducing it, as well as forgive myself for causing or adding to it.
Lord, You want me to do the impossible, to forgive, even when I do not have the strength to do so. You want me to forgive even when I cannot justify the offender. You want me to forgive so I can be free in You. So I choose to forgive, not in my strength, but in Yours.
Lord, to sum up this prayer with a paraphrase from Hebrews 12:1 — Lord, I ask that You help me lay aside every weight and sin, which clings so closely to me. Help me to run with endurance into the new year You have placed before me.
Thank You that I am free!
In Jesus’ name, Amen
Find this article in the December 2018/January 2019 issue of Leading Hearts Magazine or get this issue delivered FREE to your mobile device by texting LEADINGHEARTS to 64600
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