A Prayer for Inner Strength

Father, on the outside I look like I am holding it together, but inside I feel brittle, like one more thing could crack me. The strength I show the world is not the strength I feel in my chest.

I confess I have built my courage out of willpower and pretending, and it keeps running out at the worst moments. I am tired of being strong on the surface and hollow underneath.

So I come to You for a different kind of strength, the quiet kind that lives in the deep places and does not depend on everything going right. Build something in me that the storms cannot shake.

Steady my inner world. Anchor me to what is true when my feelings swing wild and my circumstances refuse to settle. Let my confidence rest in who You are rather than in how I happen to feel today, or in whether the day goes my way.

You promised to strengthen me with power through Your Spirit in my inner being, rooting me deep so I would not be moved. Do that quiet work in me now.

Make me strong where no one can see, so that I can stand calm where everyone can. Amen.