A Prayer about Letting Jesus Lead

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16: 24

Precious Father,

How stunning that you, 

our heavenly, hallowed, (holy) Father, 

the perfectly right and just judge 

of the universe you created, 

invite us to call you “Abba,” 

best translated in English as “Daddy.”

You are a good Father,

Perfectly tender,

Perfectly strong,

Perfectly wise,

Perfectly loving.

You embodied your love in your Son, 

who, just before he died on a cross for our sins, 

told his disciples, in essence, 

“You must let me lead your life. 

You must release your white-knuckled grip 

on the steering wheel of your life.” 

When we do, we will discover that all along, 

it was an illusion, 

that you always had the wheel, 

that you were and are 

taking us on a ride 

that may not seem safe to us, 

but is definitely good for us, 

because it is part of your perfect journey 

of drawing us closer to you, 

of leading us to vistas of unspeakable glory, 

of transporting us to landscapes of our lives 

we never would have visited on our own.

Today we name the areas of our lives 

where we need you to unfurl our fingers, 

to hold our hands gently yet firmly, 

that we may not try to grip the wheel again.

[Name some areas you desperately want to control.]

Help us, Lord, 

to follow your beloved Son 

into the way of suffering, 

the way of glory. 

In his precious name we pray. Amen. 

Read Matthew 16:21-26. 

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Lord, 

We believe; help our unbelief.

We believe you have already come into our midst 

in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

We believe you are a mighty one 

who has already saved us from our sins 

through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But in the next line of this magnificent verse, 

we stutter and stumble. 

We think that maybe you will rejoice in us 

some day in the future 

when we are more holy, 

that you will love us 

some day in the future 

when we never sin again,

that you will exult in us with loud singing 

some day in the future 

when we’ve finally earned our way to heaven.

But that’s not what Scripture tells us.

The gospel good news 

for all who trust in Jesus

is that right this minute, 

you are rejoicing over us, 

right this minute

you are quieting us with your love, 

right this minute

and you are exulting over us with loud singing. 

You saved us. 

You love us. 

You delight in us. 

You sing extra-loud over us, 

like the five-year-old who loves to sing 

at the top of his lungs 

because he’s so happy. 

Help us today to sit quietly 

and listen for the sound 

of your delight in us, 

and may that delight 

change the way we live and love 

today and every day. 

In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.

Read Zephaniah 3:14-20.