A Prayer for God to Use Me - Your Daily Prayer - April 25

A Prayer for God to Use Me
By Keneesha Saunders Liddie 

Bible Reading:
“Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” - 2 Timothy 2:21

Listen or Read Below:

Do you want to be used by God? To be a part of carrying out His will on earth? I pray that you do. When I look around at the Christian faith, I see so much division, but there is nothing new under the sun. There was also much division during Paul and Timothy’s time, yet that didn’t stop them from availing themselves for the Master’s use.

Whatever God’s will is on earth, I want Him to use me; to show His love, to shine His light, to be salt and bring flavor to the world, to share His good news, and to bear a fellow believer’s burden. I just want God to use me.

The Bible tells us we can be vessels of honor or dishonor, and to be used by God, we need to be vessels of honor. This is what God says: if a man or woman purges themselves from these things, they will be a vessel of honor, sanctified and fit for the Master’s use, prepared for every good work.

When was the last time you took time to seek God and examine your heart and motives before Him? Self-examination is an important part of being sanctified as we avail ourselves to be used by God. Why do you want to sing in the choir? Why are you joining the usher board? God requires that we be vessels of honor if we want to be used by Him. He also asks that we be sanctified: holy and set apart for the work of Christ.

I’m so thankful that this process began when Jesus saved us, and now He is keeping us. We also have the full assurance that He will never let us go. However, we must continually purge ourselves, running to the foot of the cross and asking for forgiveness when we fail, because we will fail. Yet our God has never failed us.

Even in our imperfections, God can use us. He knows our condition and our limitations. He is familiar with our faults, which is why we shouldn’t lean on our own understanding but instead lean on His. Realize that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Where we are weak, He is equipped with the strength to carry us through any task He has given us.

If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Once we commit to living a holy life before our God, we can be vessels of honor that He can use, prepared for every good work.

As vessels of honor, there are some things Paul warns us about. We shouldn’t be quarrelsome, and we should avoid worldly and empty chatter. My teachers would always say, “Empty vessels make the most noise,” whenever a student wouldn’t focus and kept talking in class—and they were right. When believers quarrel about unnecessary things, it is hurtful to those who hear. It does far more harm than good, and essentially nothing important is being shared or gained.

Let us not serve the Lord as dishonorable vessels, but as wise ones. Remember that our speech should always be seasoned with grace.

Let’s Pray:

Most Gracious God,

Thank You for who You are. Thank You for what You have done for me and what You will continue to do. Thank You for Your goodness that keeps running after me. I humbly come before You, asking You to cleanse me and forgive me of all my sins and any failures I have made during my service to You.

Search me, O God, and try my ways. I long to worship and serve You, so please reveal any wrong motives in my heart that would not bring You glory and honor. Once I have been forgiven, please make me a part of Your plans, as I long to bring praise to Your matchless name.

Please use me for Your kingdom. I avail myself to You, dear Lord. Let my life be fully surrendered so that Your will may be accomplished here on earth.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Share your reflections on today’s devotional in the Your Daily Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

Photo Credit: © Getty Images/YakubovAlim

Keneesha Saunders-Liddie is a wife and mom. She is an avid reader of wholesome romance novels and a writer. She has a Master's in Biblical Counseling as she believes in the sufficiency of Scripture. As a pastor’s kid, she fell in love with the way Jesus loved her at an early age and wants to encourage others to live for Him through her words. You can find more musings from her at keneeshaliddie.com

Related Resource: A Prayer for When You Feel Spiritually Tired

There is a particular kind of exhaustion that has nothing to do with how much sleep you got last night. It's the weariness that settles into your soul when you've been going hard for a long time — when prayer feels hollow, worship feels distant, and you find yourself sitting in church thinking about everything except what's being said. If that's where you are tonight, this episode was written for you. If you like what you hear, follow Your Nightly Prayer on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!