A prayer to overcome my lack of faith

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory ... — 1 Peter 1:8

Dear Father, I tend to believe what I see and doubt that which I don't. Forgive me, Lord, for my lack of faith.

I woke up this morning on the wrong side of the bed, immediately turning my laptop on the moment my alarm clock had rung. I hardly uttered a prayer. Instead I went on grumbling, hoping the day would end before it had even started.

How short-sighted I was, Lord, and how irritable! I finished my report after an hour. I just wanted to get it done with. Was I thinking of doing it to glorify your Name, to display excellence so as to honor You? No, I wasn't. Exhausted, I headed straight back to bed, blaming the stresses of the hospital, my decision to sleep earlier the night before, the 24-hour duty scheme of my training institution—and the list could go on and on.

What did I just do? I failed to see You. I forgot that You are—and will always be—in control of all things, in the big and small, in significant and minute details of my life. You allow the events that unfold in my life to happen as they do because you want to make me more like Christ.

But thank You, Lord, that just before this day ends, You remind me of the living hope I, and all other Christians, have: an "inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for [us]" (1 Peter 1:4). Jesus Christ's vicarious death on the cross and resurrection from the dead made this possible.

You are our inheritance, Lord! "'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.' (Lamentations 3:24).” What else can I ask for?

Help me love You, Lord, as I ought—a love that passionately longs to worship You, to rejoice in You, and to proclaim Your Word to friends who still don't know you personally. Help me overcome my doubts and give me joy and strength for tomorrow. These I pray in Jesus' mighty and holy name, Amen.