A Prayer About Self-control

When I need restraint

HOLY SPIRIT,

According to Galatians 5:23, self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, a by-product of your work in me. And that’s exactly what I need. Whether the issue is eating, drinking, talking, driving, reacting to an insult or injustice, expressing feelings, or acting in anger, I need you to restrain my natural impulse to go over the top. When I lose control, I lose the battle and damage relationships, often irreparably. I become someone I don’t want to be. In a disagreement, my overreaction quickly moves the focus off the topic and onto me, what I have said or the way I am acting. Sometimes I whip off an angry e-mail or use hateful words—in both cases, actions that I quickly regret. I want to be a disciplined person who keeps body, mind, and emotions in check. My deepest desire is to do everything, in public or private, for your glory, and only you can give me self-control.

A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. Proverbs 25:28