Today I am honored to introduce you to my friend Eileen Knowles. I discovered her blog several months ago, and she has been encouraging my heart through her writing ever since. I adore her heart and her love for God and for those who are hurting.

Eileen recently released her first ebook, A Mistake Maker’s Manifesto & more. Did I mention that you can get a copy of her ebook for free? Yes, she is that awesome. After reading her post, I highly encourage you to click on her website link below and download a copy of this book. I know you will be blessed today by her honesty and wisdom!

So here is Eileen and her prayer that changed everything…

Lord, change my heart.

There was a time in my life when I found it necessary to utter those four words over and over. I didn’t want to do what God was calling me to do and so I prayed. At times, I even begged. The first thing I did was acknowledge to God that I thought His plan stunk. Believe it or not, this was positive progress for me. In the past, I would have just turned down the volume and walked away from Him.

However, this particular time, I made the choice to turn up the volume and stay. I confessed to God in a rather kicking and screaming way that I didn’t want to do it His way. And yet, after several years of wrong turns and horrible choices, I knew that if I desired the freedom, and all the life He wanted to offer me, then I needed to listen to Him. In my mind, it had become a matter of life or death. I knew that the only way I would be willing to do things His way was if He somehow and someway came in and changed my heart.

Lord, change my heart.

This prayer, I realize now, is the most productive prayer we could ever pray.

“This prayer acknowledges…

…that our hearts need help.

…that we can’t succeed on our own.

…that we are willing to place our hope in the One who is more than capable of transforming our hearts.

…that we are ready to completely trust Him to move us beyond the sum of our failures and mistakes.”

~ A Mistake Maker’s Manifesto & More

Are you struggling with a tough choice today? Do you know the right thing to do but your heart is not yet fully on board? Let me encourage you to take all of your apprehensions to the Lord and honestly tell Him how you feel. You won’t hurt His feelings. God already knows what you are truly thinking. Yet He desires for you to humbly come to Him and articulate those fears to Him.

When we do this, we become willing to let Him do His thing despite our lack of enthusiasm. Once we choose this single step of obedience, God begins doing a mighty work inside of us.

Today,  if you are tempted to turn down the volume…don’t. Make the choice to crank it up a notch instead.

It might turn out to be the most courageous and life-changing choice you will ever make.

About The Author

Eileen Knowles is a small town Arizona girl who studied English at The University of Arizona a long, long time ago. She now lives in small town North Carolina with her husband, Roger, their eight-year old son, and one quirky dog named Bisbee. When she is not working part-time loving on animals at the local animal hospital, she thoroughly enjoys drinking coffee, running, playing Scrabble, leading Women’s Bible Study at her church, and writing about how cool it is to journey through life with Jesus holding her hand.

Eileen is passionate about leaving a legacy for her son and encouraging others along the way who might need a dose of hope poured into their weary lives.

Download your free copy of Eileen’s A Mistake Maker’s Manifesto & more.

You can find her taking The Scenic Route at www.eileenknowles.com You can also connect with her on Twitter at @cupojoegirl, or connect with her on Facebook at The Scenic Route.