Dangerous PrayersSample

SHAPE ME AND MOLD ME

One of the scariest and coincidentally freeing things any follower of Jesus can do is relinquish control and place the outcomes of their lives into the capable hands of Christ. Replacing control with trust allows God to shape and mold every aspect of our being, including our priorities, attitudes, thoughts, habits, and especially our relationships. The dangerous prayer of asking God to reshape and mold our lives removes us from the driver’s seat and places us in the passenger seat. We soon find out, we were never driving in the first place. It was God.

Isaiah 64:8 reminds us, "But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand." Like clay in the potter's hand, surrendering to God's shaping process is a practice of humility and trust.

In fasting, we create space to be molded. We quiet our desires to listen closely to God's voice, allowing Him to speak and direct the most intimate details in our lives. Fasting is a powerful way to clear away distractions so we can feel God's work in us and see our lives through His eyes.

Like clay, we may feel the pressure of change and the uncomfortableness of being stretched and formed into something new. If we endure the difficult and sometimes painful process, God shapes us into the people He created us to be in the first place. He smooths and sands the rough edges of our hearts, often reshaping our relationships, thoughts, and communication with others and ourselves. He even takes those broken parts of our lives, redeems them, and forms them into something beautiful, often used to heal someone else’s brokenness.

Steve Osborne