A Prayer to Stay Grounded in Moments of Success
By Emma Danzey
Bible Reading
Psalm 115:11 says, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”
Listen or Read Below:
Have you encountered some incredible success lately within your career, family, education, or community? It is wonderful to receive recognition for hard work, but if we are not careful, we can often become conceited and forget to give glory where it is due to the Lord.
It is easy to believe that we have personally achieved accomplishments because of our own gifts, talents, or even hard work. Although our choices play a role in our success, ultimately it is up to God to gift us with minds that think, hearts that beat, and souls that live to even have the ability to achieve anything. He is the Giver of all good gifts, He is the Creator of life, and He is ultimately the only one to receive honor and praise. When we place ourselves and our success above Jesus, this is called idolatry. No, we may not have a physical idol statue, but anything we put above Christ is an idol. May we be cautious of this and prayerful as we have moments of success to remember the eternal King that we serve. He is the only Worthy One. We can use our moments of success as platforms to His glory and name being known.
Today, we are going to take time to pray to stay grounded in moments of success. We have seen many examples of what to do and not to do within the pages of Scripture. May we remember that all of the glory belongs to the Lord. Some specific Bible verses we can meditate on before praying include:
- Psalm 115:11 says, “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!”
- Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
- Revelations 4:11 says, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
Let's Pray:
Dear Jesus,
Not to us, but to Your name, Jesus, be the glory in all of our successes past, present, and future. You are worthy to receive all the glory and honor and power! Help us to shine our lights before others so that they would not see us but that they would see You and praise You. May our victories in this world be testimonies of the goodness of Your salvation and provision. Thank you for unique callings, skills, and dreams. Help us to cultivate them and set new goals to achieve. Remind us, though, in planning and pursuing that we ultimately are here to praise You. We lay our platforms of work, family, service, and creativity down at Your feet. Thank you for entrusting each of us with unique callings and purposes. Help us to keep an eternal mindset as we pursue the callings in front of us.
Thank You for the opportunities to shine, but let our names be less and Your name be glorified. When we are asked about our success, help us to live by the Spirit and not our flesh in our responses. Give us the courage to redirect our victories to You and segue into gospel conversations with others who need to hear of the hope of heaven. Remind us that this is not about us, this life is not about making our names great, but about carrying our crosses and holding up the name of You, Jesus.
We praise You for humbling Yourself on the cross to have the ultimate moment of success in resurrecting Yourself from the dead. You and Only You, Jesus, are worthy to receive all glory and worship. You are the Lord of lords, the King of kings, and our Champion of heaven. We surrender to Your will and Your best for our lives. Whether we have success in the world’s eyes or success in Your eyes that no one ever celebrates on this earth, help us serve You above all.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Chinnapong
Emma Danzey’s mission in life stems from Ephesians 3:20-21, to embrace the extraordinary. One of her greatest joys is to journey with the Lord in His Scriptures. She is wife to Drew and mom to Graham. Emma serves alongside her husband in ministry, she focuses most of her time in the home, but loves to provide articles on the Bible, life questions, and Christian lifestyle. Her article on Interracial Marriage was the number 1 on Crosswalk in 2021. Most recently, Emma released Treasures for Tots, (Scripture memory songs) and multiple books and devotionals for young children. During her ministry career, Emma has released Wildflower: Blooming Through Singleness, two worship EP albums, founded and led Polished Conference Ministries, and ran the Refined Magazine. You can view her articles on her blog at emmadanzey.wordpress.com
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
Kerry Washington. Andrea Bocelli. Reba McEntire. Mark Wahlberg. Tony Dungy. Matthew McConaughey, What do all of these people have in common? They are all people of faith who have leaned on God in both the good and challenging times—and they’ve shown up to tell their story of faith on The Jesus Calling Podcast. The Jesus Calling Podcast provides a place for people from all walks of life to share the heartaches, joys, and divine moments that keep them going.
Inspired by Sarah Young's classic devotional book, the Jesus Calling podcast has brought encouragement and peace to millions. New episodes drop every Thursday! Listen today on LifeAudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
Now that you've prayed, are you in need of someone to pray for YOU? Click the button below!
