A Prayer About Popularity

When I want to be liked by everyone

DEAR JESUS,

I admit that I like to be liked, and the more people who like me, the better I feel. I suppose this is normal; no one enjoys being disliked. But sometimes this popularity need gets in the way of values that should be much more important, the main one being to glorify you in all that I do. Forgive me, Lord, for being, at times, like the Pharisees who “loved human praise more than the praise of God.” I remember, Jesus, that you drew massive crowds who wanted something from you. But you weren’t interested in being popular, just in doing your Father’s will. And you were ultimately abandoned and condemned, “despised and rejected,” as Isaiah predicted. Give me the strength, I pray, to be willing to lose the crowd, to stand alone, to be despised . . . for you. I know that being close to you might distance me from my friends. But I am willing to pay that price. Human praise means nothing—only God’s praise is worth seeking. Following you is all that matters to me.

They loved human praise more than the praise of God. John 12:43