5 Powerful Prayers That Can Change Your Life

“The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays” ~ Søren Kierkegaard.

Let me ask you something…

Have you ever felt beaten down by life?

Like you have no idea why you were put on this earth? Like life feels like a series of ultimately meaningless pursuits?

Or what about moments when the inevitable life challenges come. Relationship problems, health crises, financial setbacks, and death.

Who do you turn to in these moments? Do you try to go it alone? Do you talk to a friend? Do you just stick your head in the sand and pretend everything’s ok?

While many people turn to self-help and meditation in order to gain a greater sense of control over their emotions and lives, what happens even when these methods fall short?

The power of prayer

As a hospice chaplain, I spend my days with the dying and their families. I do this mostly by being present with them and holding space for them to share their joys, concerns, fears, and what matters most as they approach the end of their lives.

I also pray.

With their permission, I’ve prayed for people who were believers in prayers and others who were more skeptical about prayer but are, nevertheless, open to it.

In my brief time as a hospice chaplain, I’ve been in the room with grieving families as their loved one passed from this world to the next. I’ve prayed with family minutes or hours after a death. Though the prayers cannot bring a person back, they provide comfort and peace to many.

Through my hospice ministry, I’ve rediscovered the power of prayer in my own life. When I’m suffering under the heavy weight of my own thoughts and feelings, I turn to prayer.

If you’re in place in your life where you could use some prayer but don’t know where to start, here are five of the most powerful and effective prayers I know:

1. The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name;
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

You’ve probably prayed this prayer a million times—ok, maybe not that much, but a lot. So much so that you may miss the truly radical nature of this prayer. Whole books have been written on this prayer, but suffice it to say that probably the most overlooked line of this prayer is “Thy will be done.”

The most effective prayers meet us at the edge of our control, after we’ve tried things our way without success. “Thy will be done” is radical because it directly confronts our illusion of control and calls us to surrender.

If you haven’t prayed this prayer in a while, try it again. Pay close attention to this phrase and see how it changes your experience of this prayer.

2. Suscipe: “Take, Lord, Receive”

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding, and my entire will
— all that I have and call my own.
You have given it all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace.
That is enough for me.

Written by St. Ignatius of Loyola, this powerful prayer stands in direct opposition to all we hold dear in our capitalist system: freedom, accumulation, and ownership.

St. Ignatius prays the truth that we, in fact, own nothing, not even our wills. He is willing to give up everything for only one thing in return—the Lord’s love and grace.

Meditate on this prayer when you feel tempted to be overly concerned with material wealth. Be open to how it can change your relationship with not only your material goods, but with all you value including your intellect, your social standing, and your good health.

3. The Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, I pray this prayer when I’m tempted to believe that hate is stronger than love. When I’m tempted to think that greed, sexism, racism, or social unrest have won the day, I turn to this prayer.

When I’m tempted to argue instead of listening, this prayer silences me.

Try it and see what it does for you.

4. The Merton Prayer

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Written by Thomas Merton, the disarming honesty of this prayer is so refreshing. When last have you admitted to someone that you didn’t know what you were doing? Most of us are desperate to be seen as people who know what our lives are about. We plot, scheme, and plan out our lives for maximum success.

But the truth is that most of us are like Merton. No matter how much we plan, we almost never end up exactly where we intended. And even when we do, it’s often anticlimactic. If you have a hard time trusting that you will end up where you need to be, try praying this prayer.

5. The Serenity Prayer

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

This is the prayer that was on my heart when I first started this blog. Often attributed to theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, this prayer became most associated with Alcoholics Anonymous. The power of this prayer, and of AA, is that before we can change, we must first come to peace with the things that cannot be changed.

What situation in your life do you find it impossible to experience a sense of serenity toward? Bring this situation to mind and pray this prayer.

Prayer can change your life

If it’s been a while since you’ve prayed, go through these prayers again and pick the one that resonates the most with you.

Meditate on your chosen prayer for the next few days. Be open to the ways prayer can change your whole perspective on life.

Indeed, the prayer you have chosen may very well change your life.