God’s been destroying my contentedness. That’s okay; I’ve been asking Him to. For a long time I’ve wanted a passionate cause to get involved in, something that truly spoke to my heart so I could embrace it as my life’s mission. The Lord is finally revealing to me what that is, but only because I’ve been praying the most dangerous prayers in existence.

WARNING:

These prayers are dangerous. They will bring about results far greater than you could have ever anticipated. You may read these prayers, but prepare to have your life changed, your world perception rocked, and your contentedness diminish dramatically if you actually mean them.

1. Forgive me my sins, and be Lord of my life. Inviting God to truly take over my life was the most dangerous prayer of all. While the prayer for grace is the most beautiful prayer, it was incomplete without asking the Lord to take over my life. I know that a Christian cannot serve both self and God. If my faith is not illuminated by Christ-inspired deeds, my faith is dead.  (James 2:14-26)
2. Let me see the world through Your eyes, Lord. When I truly see the world through God’s eyes, I see all the beauty of the universe paired with all the wicked sin of men. I am overwhelmed by evil and I mourn for the injustice heaped on the weak and helpless. Children are beaten and abused, women are sold into sex slavery, men are addicted to power and self-worship, the homeless die of hunger and exposure in a first world country, people are starving everywhere. While I am exposed to these things on a daily basis from the news, it is not the same as asking God to reveal to me what He sees. If you ask God to open your eyes, He will — and you will be changed. (Ephesians 1:17-19)
3. Grant me your compassion. Inevitably, after I learn of the horrible deeds of humans, I feel righteously angry. People should be punished for their sins and crimes against humanity — but I have to remember that these people are likely repeating a pattern of sin and anger passed down through their families’ generations. The man who abuses his wife and child was likely abused; the wealthy person who does not give to the less fortunate was probably taught it is unwise to do so. God has righteous anger and judgement, but he has equal amounts of righteous compassion and forgiveness. Victims and perpetrators alike require prayer and forgiveness. While I may not invite my enemy into my home, I am still instructed to pray. I am also reminded that I too was once a sinner, no better than the murderer down the street in God’s eyes — and yet He had compassion on me and saved me. (Matt 5:43-44; Matt 6:15)
4. How can I serve your Kingdom? Here’s the truth: God doesn’t need me. He is more than able to handle this world’s troubles without me. But the King of the universe wants us to obey and worship Him and Him alone. As I’ve learned, this requires my time, finances, and above all, my heart. God’s desire is that no man should perish (Matt 18:14, 2 Peter 3:9), and with that desire comes the commandment to Christ-followers to go and make disciples of all the nations (Matt 28:19). It’s hard for me to believe that there are people on this earth (in my city!) who do not have a clear understanding of who Jesus Christ is.

After all of these life-changing prayers, the real question/prayer is, what next?

While my eyes are open to the difficult truth, my heart is even more open to God’s love. I am not drowning in sorrow or despair. I know I am not alone in fighting these battles. It just makes me want to do something to change the world’s situation. I think about my wonderful friends who are involved in all of these ministries:

• planting college ministries
• reclaiming art for the glory of God
• fighting poverty
• shedding the light on sex trafficking here in the U.S.
• caring for orphaned children across the world

The honest truth is that I can see myself getting involved in all of these ministries at some point in time. Everyone close to me knows that my desire is to be a social justice philanthropist.  I dedicated my life to Christ in a college ministry, so I know the importance of that. I have a heart to teach artists about God because the music world is so dark, and so many musicians believe they must worship their instruments or their music to succeed.  I love children, and while I deeply desire to be a mother some day, that does not stop me from wanting to love and protect children now.

God’s revealing the heart He’s given me, but I would ask you to pray on my behalf that my ministry calling is clear to me. If you have any of your own wisdom or prayers to share, please leave a comment below!