Yesterday, I found that wonderful prayer by Allen Arnold for surrendering our creativity to God.

I’ve had a difficult week, lots of personal challenges, a small household tragedy, feeling overloaded, struggling to write. Struggling, because I’ve closed my heart to God, in my anger and grief, instead of surrendering even deeper to Him. Today, in my quiet time, I filled the page with a prayer of my own. It’s raw. It lacks the lyrical beauty of Allen’s prayer. But I’m posting it here just in case it touches someone’s heart the way it’s touched mine.

Please help me to write for You Lord. Help me to focus on You, to open myself to You, and just let the words come without criticizing or judging. I know I haven’t found the core of this story yet and I need to be okay with that and write regardless. The only way out is through. I need to dive into the story recklessly, with abandon, trusting in You. I love that feeling. Thank You Lord!

Please, help me to do that. Help me to forget all else but You and the story and write free and wild and joyfully and thankfully. Help me to write with trust and faith and freedom, knowing that You write the story, not me. I doubt myself, yes, but I have no need to doubt when it’s You doing the work. Thank You for that. Thank You that I can trust and rely on You. Thank You that Your burden is easy and light.

Help me to surrender all the burdens I’m carrying Lord, that make life feel so heavy and hard. Help me to hand them all over to you, let them go, let them slip from my shoulders with a relieved sigh, as You place your soft gentle light yoke on my shoulders instead. Help me to seek to serve You, not myself. Help me to measure my success in how much I am serving You, not in worldly goals like book sales or making money. Help me to make it more about You and less about me.

More of You, less of me. That’s what I need, dear Lord. That’s what I need. I love You. I want to live for You. That way is peace and joy and love and an overflowing heart. Struggling on my own is no fun. It hurts. It closes my heart to love. Help me to open to You. Help me to trust in You. Help me to abandon myself to You. You are my light and my life. You can fill me with rivers of love, overflowing, blessing all around me.

You can do all things, and in You, I can too. But without You, I am nothing. I am lost. I am loveless. Help me to always choose You Lord, to choose love, to choose life. You are the way, the truth, and the light, and in You, all things become new.

Including me.