THE HOUSE OF PRAYER — PRAYER XI: REVEAL WHAT IS IN ME A Prayer for Examination, Exposure, and Refinement

This is a prayer for examination, exposure, and

refinement. Search me, O God, and know my heart.

Try me and know my thoughts. God, today I am

not asking you first to change what is happening

around me. I am asking you to search what is

happening within me. Search my heart. Search

my motives. Search my thoughts. Search my desires.

Search my relationships. Search my habits. Search

my reactions. Search my words search the places

within me that success may have hidden Comfort

may have covered and position may have protected

God Show me me Not the person I think I am Not

the person others believe me to be not the person

I present publicly Show me the condition of my

heart when nobody is watching and if the fire

is revealing something within me Give me the

humility to see it. God, when pressure brings

anger out of me, don't let me only blame the

person who provoked me. Show me what needs healing

within me. When correction makes me defensive,

show me what pride may still be protecting. When

somebody else's success makes me uncomfortable,

show me whether jealousy has found a place in

my heart. When waiting produces frustration,

show me where impatience is still governing me.

When rejection makes me question my worth, show

me where I have depended too heavily upon human

approval. When authority exposes something different

in me, remind me that influence was never given

to feed my ego. And when temptation reveals an

appetite I thought I had conquered, teach me

not to hide it, justify it, or feed it. God,

expose the seed before it becomes a harvest.

God, refine my tongue. Your word teaches me that

a small rudder can direct a great ship and a

small spark can set an entire forest on fire.

So God, refine my tongue. Teach me to govern

my mouth. When I am angry, guard my words. When

I am offended, guard my words. When I am misunderstood,

guard my words. When I possess information that

could damage another person, give me wisdom.

When gossip reaches my ears, give me discipline

not to carry it further. When I have the opportunity

to humiliate someone, give me the character to

refuse. When I am corrected, teach me to listen

before I defend myself. When I disagree, teach

me to disagree without becoming destructive.

When silence will protect peace, teach me to

remain silent. When truth must be spoken, give

me the courage to speak it with wisdom, love

and self -control. God, do not allow my mouth

to destroy what my prayers have been asking you

to build. Do not allow one uncontrolled reaction

to damage years of obedience. Do not allow temporary

anger to create permanent consequences. Put a

guard over my mouth Teach me to govern what you

have given me before you increase my influence

Don't let me defend what you are trying to remove

God when you reveal something within me Do not

allow pride to make excuses for it Take away

the words That's just how I am Take away the

excuse Everybody does it Take away the defense

They started it Take away every justification

that protects something you are trying to transform.

If it does not belong in the person you are preparing

me to become I surrender it. If pride must leave,

let it leave. If bitterness must leave, let it

leave. If uncontrolled anger must leave, let

it leave. If jealousy must leave, let it leave.

If an unhealthy appetite must die, let it die.

If a dangerous relationship must lose access

to my life, give me the courage to establish

the boundary. If compromise has become comfortable,

awaken my conscience again. If success has made

me spiritually careless, bring me back to dependence

upon you. If applause has become too important

to me, teach me again to live for your approval.

If authority has changed the way I treat people,

humble me. If my private character cannot sustain

my public assignment, refine me before you enlarge

me. Holy Spirit, help me, Holy Spirit. I need

your help. I cannot refine myself by human strength

alone. Produce your fruit within me. Give me

patience when I want to react. Give me gentleness

when I possess the power to be harsh. Give me

humility when pride wants to defend itself. Give

me wisdom when emotion wants to decide. Give

me discernment when compromise presents itself

as something harmless. And give me self -control

when temporary desire attempts to compete with

permanent purpose. Teach me to recognize the

moment before the moment becomes a mistake. Teach

me to recognize the seed before the seed becomes

a harvest. Teach me to recognize compromise before

compromise becomes bondage. Teach me to recognize

the spark before the forest begins to burn. I

will not waste the exposure. God, if you reveal

a crack in my foundation, I will not be angry

because construction has stopped. I will thank

you for showing me the crack before another floor

was added. If you expose weakness before expansion

I will receive the warning. If you expose pride

before promotion I will receive the correction.

If you expose an appetite before greater access

I will receive the protection. If you expose

my tongue before increasing my voice I will receive

the discipline. If you expose my character before

increasing my authority, I will receive the refinement.

Because I understand now, exposure can be mercy.

You may be showing me today what you refuse to

allow to destroy tomorrow. So I will not hide

from what the fire reveals. I will not defend

it. I will not normalize it. I will not blame

everybody else for it. I will bring it before

you, and I will say, God, refine me. Therefore,

I declare, I declare that the fire will not be

wasted. I declare that pressure will not merely

hurt me, it will teach me. I declare that what

God reveals, I will have the courage to confront.

I declare that what must be surrendered, I will

surrender. I declare that what must be healed,

God will heal. I declare that what must be disciplined

I will bring under the authority of the Holy

Spirit. I declare that my tongue will not destroy

my testimony. My reactions will not control my

destiny. My appetites will not govern my decisions.

My pride will not sabotage my purpose. My relationships

will not pull me away from God's direction. My

private life will not become the enemy of my

public assignment. I declare that my character

will grow with my calling. My discipline will

grow with my opportunity. My humility will grow

with my influence. My wisdom will grow with my

authority. And my self -control will grow with

my access. I will not merely ask God for greater

things. I will surrender to the preparation required

to carry greater things. God, search me, know

my heart, try me, reveal what is within me, and

when you reveal it, give me the courage to place

it on the altar. Because I would rather be corrected

before expansion than destroyed after promotion

I would rather have the impurity exposed in the

fire then carry it into my purpose I would rather

allow God to refine me today then allow an undisciplined

weakness to destroy tomorrow what took years

to build. Therefore, I declare, I will not fear

the refining. I will not waste the exposure.

I will not defend what God is trying to remove.

The fire is revealing. The Holy Spirit is correcting.

My character is developing. My discipline is

strengthening. My heart is being purified. And

I am becoming capable of carrying what God has

entrusted to me. I am being refined for a purpose.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. You are not

alone.