Use these transformative prayers to renew your mind, strengthen your faith, & make positive changes in your life while embracing a journey of spiritual growth.
The human mind is a complicated place. As women, especially, our minds can feel like huge labyrinths full of hidden passages and twisted paths. Our minds and our thoughts tend to be incredibly powerful and overwhelming, and we often feel helpless to control them.
And because we feel helpless to control our minds, they seem to control us. We end up becoming slaves to our own thought processes and determining there isn’t anything we can do to change them.
This quickly escalates and becomes a vicious cycle that can be difficult to extricate ourselves from. The idea that we could possibly take control of our thoughts, let alone transform our minds, seems downright laughable.
But it’s true. We don’t need to be slaves to our minds. We don’t need to allow our lives, emotions, and decisions to be dictated by our erratic thought processes. It’s possible to experience transformative freedom like we’ve never experienced it before.
But how?
Romans 12:2 says:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Romans 12:2
First, we see that we aren’t to conform to the patterns of this world. Meaning, you don’t want to look like what you see going on all around you. Don’t mold yourself into something that reflects the current culture.
If you’re looking, thinking, or acting like what you see in the “world,” then you aren’t looking, thinking, or acting like Jesus. But how do we go about doing that?
Paul proceeds to explain that we can be transformed from this mold of the world into someone who will do His will, all by the renewing of our minds.
This isn’t just a little pep talk you give yourself first thing in the morning. This is actually changing your thoughts and the processes by which your mind works. In a word, it’s transformative.
“Think your way to a better you” might sound like something on the front cover of the grocery store check-out line, but it actually comes straight out of the Bible.
How do we even begin to change our thoughts and allow our minds to be transformed into something that will glorify God? Where do we even begin?
Keep reading and find out.
Understanding the Power of Prayer in Mind Renewal
Prayer is the most powerful thing you can do in a day. And the process of renewing your mind is impossible to do without it. You can’t begin to renew your mind without first coming to the One who will do the renewing.
The first step is found in 2 Corinthians 10:5:
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:5
We must take our thoughts captive. The word “captive” here refers to taking prisoner, or taking control, of any thought that is not in obedience to Christ.
God tells us exactly how we should be thinking in Philippians 4:8.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Philippians 4:8
If we are to make our thoughts obedient unto Christ, then we need to be able to recognize the disobedient ones. You can ask yourself, are your thoughts;
- true (genuine, reliable, and valid)
- noble (worthy of respect)
- right (righteous, innocent, upright)
- pure (innocent)
- lovely (pleasing)
- admirable (appealing, praiseworthy)
- excellent (good, virtuous)
Chances are, if your thoughts aren’t falling in line with the above categories, they may not be in line with how God wants you to think. And those thoughts are the ones that need to be taken prisoner.
Once you’ve examined your thoughts in light of God’s Word and taken captive the ones that don’t glorify Him, it’s now time to replace those thoughts with ones that will. And through prayer, this process will renew (change) your mind.
Personal Experience with Mind Renewal Through Prayer
I’ve had many moments where I had to stop, take thoughts that didn’t glorify God captive, and ask for a renewal of my mind through prayer.
I remember one night I was suddenly awakened at 3 a.m. I’m not sure what woke me up, but almost immediately a fear gripped my heart, and I thought, “What if the house catches fire?”
Before I knew it, I was laying in bed, running these terrible scenarios through my head, and trying to come up with some sort of game plan to save my family from disaster. And guess what wasn’t happening? Sleep.
I was allowing myself to become worked up over something that wasn’t even happening or about to happen because I let my mind take a rampant turn and allowed things like doubt and worry to take over.
I finally caught on to what was happening and rebuked these thoughts out loud, right there in the middle of my dark bedroom. I asked God to take those thoughts and fears from me, and I began to recite Psalm 23, reminding myself who was in control of my life.
Pretty soon after, I drifted back to sleep. My house did not catch fire, my kids and I were safe and sound, and I didn’t allow my mind to keep me from those last few hours of sleep.
Replacing those negative, not-from-God thoughts with the promise of who He is made all the difference.
Can you think of a time when you struggled in this area? When did your thoughts hold you captive instead of the other way around? What are some personal testimonies you have when it comes to renewing your mind?
It is possible to change your thought patterns and experience personal transformation through God’s promises for your life.
5 Transformative Prayers for Renewing The Mind
1. Renewing Faith
The apostles said to the Lord,
“Increase our faith!”.
Luke 17:5
Paul wrote in Hebrews that,
“without faith, it’s impossible to please God.”
Hebrews 11:6
Faith is believing God is who He says He is and will do what He says He’ll do.
But often, we tend to let doubt and worry creep into our hearts and minds. We may know what God says in the Bible, but we question if He really means it.
Through prayer and faith renewal, we can change our minds and hearts. We can increase our faith and belief that God will come through in all the ways He promised.
If you’re unsure how to pray, here is a sample of what that prayer can look like:
Dear Heavenly Father, You have said that without faith, it is impossible to please You. You have said that whoever comes to You must believe You exist and will reward those who seek after You. Forgive me for the times I have let doubt creep in. Forgive me for not trusting who You said You are, and what You said You would do. Help increase my faith. Help me to renew my mind in You and to replace those feelings of doubt and worry with promises You’ve made in Your Holy Word. I know that as I continually do this, my faith will increase, and I won’t worry and fear like I did before. Thank you for your wonderful promises to me and for loving me despite the ways I fail every day. In Jesus Christs name, Amen.
2. Restoring Hope
We serve the God of hope. Romans 15:13 says:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13
Paul lets us know that we should be filled with joy, peace, and hope. And yet, most days we walk around, glum-faced, wondering what the point of this all is. We look more hopeless than hopeful.
We need to renew our minds and experience some hope restoration through the power of God’s Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us. And prayer is the avenue to begin that transformation. If you want to delve further into renewing your mind, check out Desiring God for more information.
Your prayer doesn’t need to be fancy; it could look something like this:
Dear Lord, I feel like I’ve lost all my hope. I’ve allowed so much of the world to crowd my heart and my mind, and it’s left me feeling empty and dissatisfied. I need You and the hope that only comes through a relationship with You. Help me to renew my mind and my heart with Your hope and the joy and peace that come with that. Show me the moments where I allow despair to creep in, and give me the wisdom to replace those feelings with hope from Your Word. Thank you for being my Living Hope. In Your Holy Name, Amen.
3. Achieving Inner Peace
We all want peace. Peace for our country, peace for our family, and that internal peace that can only be attained through a relationship with our Heavenly Father. But the truth is, we seem to struggle with having peace.
It’s hard to have peace when we’re busy conforming to the world. The lies of the world will never bring us the inner peace we so desperately long for. But it is possible. Isaiah 26:3 gives us this beautiful promise:
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you”.
Isaiah 26:3
The word “steadfast” in Hebrew means “to strengthen or refresh.” God will keep you in perfect peace when your mind is strengthened and refreshed—renewed—in Him.
The way to tap into the power of His peace is through mindfulness and prayer. Don’t be nervous when you approach God in prayer; just speak with Him as you would a good friend.
Your prayer could look something like this:
O God, I have struggled to have peace in my life. I feel like there is so much keeping me from having that perfect peace you talk about in the Bible, and I want so badly to not fret and worry about my life and the things in it. Forgive me Lord, for letting despair come into my heart and my mind. For allowing the cares of the world to destroy the peace I am supposed to have. Give me what I need to keep my mind renewed in You. To remind myself of what Your promises say and to know that Your peace can be mine. Please help me live and walk in the peace that passes all understanding. In Jesus name, Amen.
4. Rediscovering Joy
Most days, joy seems pretty far down the list. It can be hard to even remember the last time you felt real joy. And yet, Jesus gives us this promise in John 15:11:
“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
John 15:11
Yes, it is possible to have the joy of Jesus in you and to be fully complete in that joy. Joy isn’t an emotion, like happiness, but rather a state of being. The act of knowing, no matter what happens in this life, that God is sovereign and 100% in control.
And resting in that knowledge, hiding it in your heart, will produce a joy in your life you’ve never felt before. To begin to find this joy in your life, come into His presence and ask Him to help you discover it.
Your prayer doesn’t need to look exactly like this, but here is an example of a prayer asking for a renewed mind of joy:
Dear Heavenly Father, I am so desperate for Your joy. I’m so tired of trying to find happiness, and going from one thing to the next. Coming up empty each time. I know it’s only Your joy that will ultimately fulfill me, and I come to you now, asking for it. Renew my mind, oh Lord, and help me stay focused on You and You alone. Remind me, through Your Word, that You are in control of all things. There is nothing I should fear because You hold everything in Your sovereign hand. Help me to remember to speak Your Word over the things in my life that try to steal my joy. Let me come to you daily, even multiple times a day, to receive more of You in my life. Thank you, Jesus, for Your Word and Your promises that never fail. Thank you for Your joy in my heart and in my life. In Your precious Name, Amen.
5. Embracing Positive Body Image
Having a positive body image in the world today is tough. From TV commercials, the covers of magazines, and the airbrushed images besetting us day in and day out, we are inundated with the culture’s idea of what our bodies should look like.
And of course, the reality is far from what we see depicted. We look in the mirror and feel ashamed, guilty, and inadequate for what we see staring back at us. We struggle with self-compassion and feel like we will never quite measure up.
This is one instance of how our minds can conform to the world. We see what the world says we should look like, and we instantly feel insufficient when we don’t measure up. But David tells us in Psalm 139:13–16:
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Psalm 139:13-16
God loves you. And His love extends far above what the world says you should look like. Or what you think you should look like. He loves all of you and He fashioned You for His plan and His purpose.
Start today and search the Scriptures to find out what God has to say about you. Then, speak those Scriptures aloud when those negative thoughts about yourself surface. You will find your mind changing the more you renew it in light of God’s Word.
It may look something like this:
Heavenly Father, The world may say I am not enough, but You say I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your eyes saw my body before it was even formed, and You loved me even then. The world says I don’t matter and I will never measure up, but You say You number all the hairs on my head, and Your thoughts toward me are more numerous than the sand on the seashore. The world doesn’t care about me Lord, but You do. So much You came and died for my sins. Thank you Jesus for a love so powerful that even death couldn’t keep it down. I don’t have to believe the lies of the current culture. Let me renew my mind on the things You say about me, and think about only that. Your words are the only ones that matter to me. In Your Holy Name, Amen.
Incorporating These Prayers into Daily Life
It’s so important that we start to recognize these ungodly thoughts when they enter our thought process and take them captive immediately. As with anything, the more you put this into practice, the easier it will be.
Once you’ve taken the negative thought captive, examine it and search Scripture to refute it. Use God’s Word, a two-edged sword, to destroy the thought for good.
Each time you do this, you are changing the landscape of your mind. You are renewing your mind with God’s Word and you will find the negative thoughts becoming less and less.
You will begin to discover spiritual growth, mental clarity, spiritual wellness, and emotional healing the more your mind becomes renewed in the Lord.
You can come to the Lord in prayer with these things all throughout the day. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need the perfect place to pray, a specific time of day, or even quiet. Those things are nice, but they also don’t always happen.
God will meet you where you’re at. Send up prayers to Him throughout your day. While you’re getting ready in the morning, making the bed, taking the kids to school, driving to work, on your lunch break, folding laundry, while you’re working, cooking supper, tucking the kids it, etc.
Get into the habit of talking to God like He’s standing right there. Because He is! Talk to Him like your best friend. Create a daily repertoire with the Creator of the Universe. He wants that more than you will ever realize.
Frequently Asked Questions
Prayer is the direct pathway to God Himself. Coming to Him with the thoughts we struggle with will allow us to lay those thoughts down and accept His truth for our lives. The more we do this, the more we will see these transformative prayers change the landscape of our minds.
Absolutely. The more you come to the Father asking for your mind to be renewed, the less you will find negative thoughts popping into your head. Negative thoughts need negativity to feed on. The more of God and His Word that’s filling your mind, the less those ungodly thoughts will be able to take hold.
We need to have faith to believe that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do. If you believe that, you will have no problem knowing that He can renew your mind through prayer. And He totally can.
The more you consistently practice renewing your mind through prayer, the less you will find those negative, ungodly thoughts creeping in. Darkness cannot dwell where the light is. Dark thoughts cannot inhabit the same space as God’s piercing truth. Renewing your mind actually changes it, for the better.
Finding Hope in Prayer
One of the best things you can begin doing is renewing your mind through prayer. You will find you have more faith, hope, peace, and joy, not to mention a better overall feeling about who you are in Christ.
It will change the way you see yourself and others in light of the way Jesus sees you and others. Incorporating daily prayer practice and mindful meditation into your spiritual journey will completely transform your life.
More Prayer Posts That Will Help You:
A Weight Loss Prayer for Fear
A Prayer for Weight Loss
A Weight Loss Prayer For Emotional Eating
Greta is a Faithful Finish Lines member and a mom of 3 from Florida. She enjoys homeschooling her kids and baking and writes to women who want to know God and make Him known.