Self-pride is known to act as a block to growth both in the physical and the spiritual aspects of life. They act out as the stubbornness and inability to listen to results in strained interpersonal relationships and market relationship miscommunication opportunities. From a religious perspective, steadfastness can also be the main cause of the refusal to accept God’s inspiration and clear understanding of the path one should follow in life. In the Bible, disobedience is shown to be the main problem and repeatedly, the heart is depicted as the key to greatness and obedience. In this article, the author presents 30 prayers which can help to avoid such a type of behaviour that may be characterized as stubbornness to become a more open person.
Role of Prayer in Tackling Stubbornness
Persistence is well handled through prayer and so it is very vital to make prayer requests regarding selfishness. It leads us into the process of changing; this implies that the changes will be conducted with grace and wisdom from God. By supplication, one can find the assistance of God to identify the areas in which one is rigid, learn why they are so, and gain the courage to do something about it. The prayers below are intended to help one target various forms of rebelliousness so that the person becomes more humble, receptive, and compliant.
1. That I Humble and Meek and Lowly in Heart
Lord God and moral absolute, level my heart so I desire Your purpose more than anything else. Please take away any pride that would make me so rigid and let me yield to Your leading. Amen.
2. Another Prayer: Prayer for Openness to Change
Dear Lord, help me to understand that You want the very best for me and help me to willingly make the changes that You want me to have in my life. I have been set in my ways, so help me to change my path to the one You have chosen for me. Amen.
3. Guidance of Solomon and Humility of Daniel
Dear Father, may you help me know when I have been wrong and also help me to come to know when I have been arrogant in my stubbornness. Guide me or speak to me Your way and help me be obedient to Your will. Amen.
4. Obedience
Lord, help me to be a faithful student of Your word, and of Your instructions. Subdue any opposition that there is in me and lead me to a behaviour that is faithful to you. Amen.
5. Change hearts for the better.
Lord, make my heart tender for I know it becomes hard that hinders me from obeying You. Teach me to be as pliable as clay in Your hands as well as be sensitive to Your voice. Amen.
6. Patience
Dear God, hear my prayer, to be patient as I listen to You and wait for your time. Teach me to wait on You and not run ahead and do things my stubborn-headed way. Amen.
7. Forgiving Spirit
God, I’m sorry for the moments I chose not to listen to You or the people around me and became arrogant. Help me to ask the Lord for pardon and, where required, reconciliation. Amen.
8. Courage to lose
O Lord, help me not to be so rigid for I know that Your ways are higher than my ways. Teach me to let go of my pride and Power and instead put my Trust in You. Amen.
9. Listen with a Good Ear
Father, guide me to become a good listener and close my ears to listen to wise people. I should free myself from any influence that would make it difficult for me to listen and accept advice. Amen.
10. Growing Spiritually
Heavenly Father, help me have growth in areas of my life that I pride myself in as a bad trait, stubbornness. Give me lessons of submission and restraint and dependence on You through these tribulations. Amen.
11. Reversal prayer of submission to authority
Please, oh Lord, let me listen to the elders and obey them as they are over me. Grant me to discern Your grace in their guiding hand and to submit with the grace that is due to their wisdom. Amen.
12. The Desire to Things of God
Dear Lord, lead me to a state where I am willing to learn and change so that I may best be instructed by You. Please assist me in learning how to make corrections and instructions from people kindly. Amen.
13. Support of Deliverance from Pride
O Lord, deliver me from the reach of pride which is the direct cause of my unnecessarily existing arrogance. Teach me to need You and other people in my life more. Amen.
14. God’s Clarity
Lord, help me open my eyes to realize the things that I have been being stiff-necked over that are destructive. Lead me to make the needed changes that are according to Your purpose. Amen.
15. Healing of Obstinate Spirit
Father, please cleanse me of any wound that may be making me stubborn. Teach me how to forgive and make me ready to release any hatred and embrace You and Your guidance in my life. Amen.
16. Compassionate Spirit
Oh God, please help me to love other people. Make me understand how they think and how I can have a little bend with other individuals I interface with. Amen.
17. Spirit of Self-Control
I suppose the attribute of temperance will allow me to curb my miscellaneous highly problematic tendencies. Teach me to pray and to be still whenever I am in a position of making decisions. Amen.
18. Unity against Stubbornness
Dear God, I ask you to guide me to seek harmony with my neighbours and rid my heart of pride that hinders me from comprehending other people’s points of view. Amen.
19. Dependence on God
Lord, help me to become a completely submitted person. Teach me that selfishness is sometimes in rejecting the help of others, and help me rely on You. Amen.
20. Godly Relationships
Lord God, help me be surrounded by nice and godly people who will help me in my spiritual development. Help me to be ready to listen to their opinion and to accept their patronage. Amen.
21. God’s Wisdom
Lord, Father, bless me that I may be able to reason well when I am making a decision. Teach me to ask You for guidance and not go by my stiffnecked desires. Amen.
22. Life during Conflicts
There is always strength in acknowledging one’s faults and weaknesses; grant me the serenity to stay calm whenever I or those around me engage in a duel. I must also allow you to cut any stubborn element that increases the level of conflict from me so that I can be taken to a resolution. Amen.
23. A Renewed Mind
Lord, wash me inside and out and change the way I think. Come help me to be rid of those rebellious ideas in my head and to accept Your truth. Amen.
24. Spirit of Gratitude
Lord, heavenly Father, I’d like to feel gratitude for what You have given me. Let me be aware of Your blessings on me and cast out rebellious grumbling. Amen.
25. Change and Growth
Father, let me have the strength to let go of areas in my life that I have become rigid on. Save me from being a religious egoist and help me to trust You and obey You. Amen.
26. Peace
Lord, give me the right state of heart and thoughts. Enable me to release refusals to rely on You and to take care of me. Amen.
27. Guidance
God, please lead me in the right path, in all I do. Teach me to look to You for guidance instead of my demandingness. Amen.
28. Compassionate Communication
Dear God, grant me to choose the right words and make my speech gentle today. Erase any rigidity that keeps interaction and rapport out of reach. Amen.
29. Faith
Lord, I need more faith to be able to patiently wait for Your will. Enable me to not hold on to my past experiences and trust Your words. Amen.
30. Joy
Dear God, heaven’s father, let me be glad. Let me cast off all the hatred and sorrows that I have and let me prepare to be happy with Your closeness. Amen.
Conclusion
It is therefore important for prayers against stubbornness to be included due to their importance in one’s self-development. Thus, via these prayers, individuals act to free themselves from the restraints of pride and rebellion which do not allow an individual to have a relationship with God and others. The use of these prayers in everyday practices makes people humble, receptive, and faithful hence attaining a closer and better relationship with Him and living an obedient life. Given the contemporary culture’s manifestations of individualism and self-assertiveness, such prayers help to counter the tendency to ‘have one’s way’ and stay supple instead.