Praying For Yourself Does Not Have To Be Selfish

I can't tell you the number of times I was in the middle of praying for myself when I started to feel like I was being selfish. There are so many people around me that are hurting; so many people around me that are not saved. I don't have to look beyond my own family to find these people.

When this happens I usually stop praying for myself and start praying for them, which is not a bad thing at all. I mean, we should be in prayer for others. However, today God told me something about this. He told me that as long as I was praying for myself for the right reasons, it's okay. He kindly revealed the connection between being blessed and being a blessing; between being taken care of by God and being a witness.

I do not feel I pray with wrong motives when I pray for myself. Maybe sometimes, but most of the time, I just want God to be glorified in my life. If God is glorified in my life then others will see this. If others see this, then they will experience God. What a great testimony it is to be blessed by God, especially to those who are lost. It's a witness by itself, but being blessed by God can also add power to your words.

Think about it. If I were to witness to an unsaved person who was ill and told them to believe that God can heal them, but I was also ill, what kind of a witness would that be? If I was to plead with someone to accept Christ but I appeared to live my life apart from Christ most of the time, would they listen? If I went up to an unbeliever who struggled with addiction or emotional problems or financial issues and told them to trust in God, and at the same time addictions, emotional problems and financial issues plagued me, what would that do?

Don't get me wrong. We live in an imperfect, fallen world, and we are imperfect, always......