This is part of my “Mind if I pray for you” series. My question this week is, “What holds you back from joy?” In other words, what prevents you from living the abundant life Jesus promised? I know for me, it’s been lingering too long on the past. Of course it’s good to seek healing for the past, but once that has started, sometimes we can spend too much time there, getting stuck.

Which is why this blog is called Live Uncaged. My heart is that you would be set free. Right now. In this moment.

But you can’t if you’re stuck. So in the comments section, please share your heart and what is holding you back from joy. I’ll pray for you, and perhaps others in this community will pray for you too. You can leave an anonymous comment if you wish.

In the meantime, here are three specific prayers you can pray:

For when you feel stuck back there:

Jesus, I pray for my friend reading this blog, that You would do something brand spanking new inside. Change from the inside out. Help each one overcome a painful memory. Please help them rise above the past, trust You in the present, and start hoping for the future. And all those things that seem to tie them down, cords of sin or abuse or pain, I pray You would untie them right now. Release them to fly. Only You in Your sovereign power can do that. Help my friend see that they are fully, completely, utterly forgiven. They are clean, white as snow. Let that truth so invade their hearts that they no longer listen to the angry voices inside that scream their unworth. You have made each person worthy. We rejoice in that right now. Amen.

When you need to be present in this moment. Right now:

Jesus, thank You that You created this day. Help us to revel in You, to be present in each moment of this day. We want to be people of courage, of joy, of infectious love. Forgive us for fearing so many things: lack of money, lack of success, lack of the feeling of home. With You, Jesus, there is no lack because You are everything beautiful. Lift our gaze from the issues of today to Your amazing eyes. Help us be transfixed by Your gaze so we won’t wander and start to fret again. Hold us please. Right our paths. Amen.

When you need to remember God writes your story:

Jesus, You are the Great I Am, the beginning of our stories, the middle and the end. Help us to trust You as the storywriter, realizing that You will never leave us as we walk this crazy earth. When our story is scary, grant us peace. When it’s mundane, help us to rejoice in normal. When we fret, lift our heads to You. When circumstances swirl out of our control, steady our minds to trust in You. Be near, near, near. We know that Your presence is what blesses us and keeps us sane. Amen.