Lord Jesus, thank you for inviting each of us to follow you. Thank you that we can know you as our Lord and Savior, and serve in your kingdom. Your love, kindness, and faithfulness have drawn us by the Holy Spirit into relationship with you, and we thank you for that gift of grace.
We accept you as our Master and Teacher—the one who disciples us. Yet, like the father of the sick boy, we often find ourselves saying, “I believe; help my unbelief.” We are your followers—please overcome the parts of our hearts that still resist following you fully. We trust you—help us to trust you more. We have some courage—give us more of your courage and holy boldness.
We follow you, even when our steps stumble, trusting that you are making us “fishers of men.” We confess that the process of being “made” can be long, difficult, and even painful. Though we are created in your image, the brokenness, pressures, and trials of this world can obscure the beauty you intended in us.
But you make everything beautiful in its time—including us. So we ask for courage to call out to you for restoration. Give us the strength to allow you to renew our hearts, minds, and souls. Make us fully devoted disciples—people of deep faith, unwavering trust, holy courage, boldness, and restored beauty—with eternity set in our hearts.
We ask all of this in Jesus’s name, amen.
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 NIV)
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27 NIV)
[adapted from February 5, 2021 post]