The Power of Praying "Break Me"
There's a prayer that most of us instinctively avoid. It's not comfortable. It doesn't promise immediate blessings or make us feel good. Yet it might be one of the most transformative prayers we can offer: "God, break me."
In our contemporary Christian culture, we've become accustomed to a certain brand of faith—one focused primarily on blessings, answered prayers, and personal improvement. We want God to fix our problems, enhance our lives, and make everything better. And while God certainly desires to bless us, we've often missed the deeper work He wants to do in our hearts.
When Turbulence Reveals Truth
Life is remarkably similar to an airplane ride. There are seasons of smooth sailing when everything feels effortless and right. But inevitably, we encounter turbulence. Sometimes we fly straight into storms of our own making—poor decisions, stubborn choices, willful disobedience. Other times, we're doing everything right, following what we believe is God's direction, and the turbulence still comes.
The question isn't whether we'll face storms. The question is: do we trust the Pilot?
When we know who's operating the plane—when we truly know His experience, His faithfulness, His power—we don't have to panic when things get rough. This is the foundation of a prayer life that invites God to break us: the absolute trust that even when He's dismantling something in our lives, He knows exactly what He's doing.
The Woman Who Broke and Poured
In Mark chapter 14, we encounter a woman whose story beautifully illustrates this principle. She was a prostitute—not a profession anyone aspires to, but one that left her hated by women and used by men. Then she encountered Jesus, a man who treated her with honor, dignity, and respect, perhaps for the first time in her adult life.
Her response was extraordinary. She came to where Jesus was dining, carrying an alabaster jar of expensive perfume worth approximately a year's wages. Without invitation, without permission, she broke the jar and poured it over Jesus' head.
The religious people were scandalized. "What a waste!" they cried. "This could have been sold to feed the poor!" But they missed the profound symbolism of her act.
Broke it and poured it.
The jar represented her past—everything she had been, everything she had done, her old identity and lifestyle. By breaking it and pouring it out, she was declaring that she was holding nothing back. She was giving everything she had because Jesus had transformed her life so completely.
The Ultimate Breaking and Pouring
Later in that same chapter, Jesus gathered with His closest friends for what would be His last meal. He took bread, blessed it, and broke it, saying, "This is my body." He took the cup of wine and said, "This is my blood, poured out for many."
Broken and poured.
Jesus wasn't just establishing a religious ritual. He was demonstrating the ultimate act of surrender—giving everything, holding nothing back, allowing Himself to be broken so that we could be made whole.
The cross represents the most profound breaking in history. Isaiah prophesied it centuries before: "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."
Why We Need Breaking
Here's the uncomfortable truth: sometimes what we want has to die so that God can birth what He wants in our lives.
We all carry things that need to be broken off—pride, stubbornness, self-sufficiency, old ways of thinking, sinful patterns, the illusion that we can handle everything ourselves. These things create barriers between us and God, preventing us from experiencing the fullness of relationship with Him.
Consider the story of Peter, who boldly declared he would never deny Jesus, then did exactly that three times. The Scripture tells us that after the third denial, Jesus locked eyes with him, and Peter ran into an alleyway, grinding his hands, knees, and face into the gravel, weeping in repentance.
Peter was broken. He felt disqualified, unusable, finished. So he went back to his old life of fishing. But Jesus wasn't done with him. When Jesus appeared on the shore, Peter suddenly understood: his brokenness wasn't wasted. God could still use him. In fact, Peter became one of the most powerful leaders of the early church.
The Breaking That Leads to Blessing
Life's greatest breakings are often preceded by God's greatest blessings. The divorce that seems tragic but leads you to deal with your heart and prepares you for a healthy relationship. The lost job that pushes you to get an education or start the business you've always dreamed about. The crisis with a child that drives you to complete dependence on God and transforms your relationship with Him.
When we're broken, when we're at the end of ourselves, when we finally stop pretending we have it all together—that's when real transformation begins.
The Invitation to Community
We impress people with our strengths, but we connect with people through our weaknesses. Perhaps God designed tears to come from our eyes because we're meant to have someone looking us in the eye when we're hurting, so we can feel their love.
This is why authentic Christian community matters. We're not meant to handle our brokenness alone. We need people who will stand with us, pray with us, and remind us that God is still working when we can't see it ourselves.
A Prayer Worth Praying
So here's the challenge: Will you pray it? "God, break my sin. Break my pride. Break my stubbornness. Break my selfishness. Break anything off my life that isn't helping me grow closer to You."
It's not a comfortable prayer. It won't always feel good. But it's an invitation for God to do His deepest work in your life—to empty you of everything that isn't Him so He can fill you with everything that is.
The gospel is ultimately an invitation to come and die—to our old selves, our old ways, our stubborn independence—and be transformed into something new. When we allow ourselves to be broken and poured out, we position ourselves to experience the most beautiful restoration God can create.
Your brokenness isn't wasted when you know it's God who holds you.
In our contemporary Christian culture, we've become accustomed to a certain brand of faith—one focused primarily on blessings, answered prayers, and personal improvement. We want God to fix our problems, enhance our lives, and make everything better. And while God certainly desires to bless us, we've often missed the deeper work He wants to do in our hearts.
When Turbulence Reveals Truth
Life is remarkably similar to an airplane ride. There are seasons of smooth sailing when everything feels effortless and right. But inevitably, we encounter turbulence. Sometimes we fly straight into storms of our own making—poor decisions, stubborn choices, willful disobedience. Other times, we're doing everything right, following what we believe is God's direction, and the turbulence still comes.
The question isn't whether we'll face storms. The question is: do we trust the Pilot?
When we know who's operating the plane—when we truly know His experience, His faithfulness, His power—we don't have to panic when things get rough. This is the foundation of a prayer life that invites God to break us: the absolute trust that even when He's dismantling something in our lives, He knows exactly what He's doing.
The Woman Who Broke and Poured
In Mark chapter 14, we encounter a woman whose story beautifully illustrates this principle. She was a prostitute—not a profession anyone aspires to, but one that left her hated by women and used by men. Then she encountered Jesus, a man who treated her with honor, dignity, and respect, perhaps for the first time in her adult life.
Her response was extraordinary. She came to where Jesus was dining, carrying an alabaster jar of expensive perfume worth approximately a year's wages. Without invitation, without permission, she broke the jar and poured it over Jesus' head.
The religious people were scandalized. "What a waste!" they cried. "This could have been sold to feed the poor!" But they missed the profound symbolism of her act.
Broke it and poured it.
The jar represented her past—everything she had been, everything she had done, her old identity and lifestyle. By breaking it and pouring it out, she was declaring that she was holding nothing back. She was giving everything she had because Jesus had transformed her life so completely.
The Ultimate Breaking and Pouring
Later in that same chapter, Jesus gathered with His closest friends for what would be His last meal. He took bread, blessed it, and broke it, saying, "This is my body." He took the cup of wine and said, "This is my blood, poured out for many."
Broken and poured.
Jesus wasn't just establishing a religious ritual. He was demonstrating the ultimate act of surrender—giving everything, holding nothing back, allowing Himself to be broken so that we could be made whole.
The cross represents the most profound breaking in history. Isaiah prophesied it centuries before: "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."
Why We Need Breaking
Here's the uncomfortable truth: sometimes what we want has to die so that God can birth what He wants in our lives.
We all carry things that need to be broken off—pride, stubbornness, self-sufficiency, old ways of thinking, sinful patterns, the illusion that we can handle everything ourselves. These things create barriers between us and God, preventing us from experiencing the fullness of relationship with Him.
Consider the story of Peter, who boldly declared he would never deny Jesus, then did exactly that three times. The Scripture tells us that after the third denial, Jesus locked eyes with him, and Peter ran into an alleyway, grinding his hands, knees, and face into the gravel, weeping in repentance.
Peter was broken. He felt disqualified, unusable, finished. So he went back to his old life of fishing. But Jesus wasn't done with him. When Jesus appeared on the shore, Peter suddenly understood: his brokenness wasn't wasted. God could still use him. In fact, Peter became one of the most powerful leaders of the early church.
The Breaking That Leads to Blessing
Life's greatest breakings are often preceded by God's greatest blessings. The divorce that seems tragic but leads you to deal with your heart and prepares you for a healthy relationship. The lost job that pushes you to get an education or start the business you've always dreamed about. The crisis with a child that drives you to complete dependence on God and transforms your relationship with Him.
When we're broken, when we're at the end of ourselves, when we finally stop pretending we have it all together—that's when real transformation begins.
The Invitation to Community
We impress people with our strengths, but we connect with people through our weaknesses. Perhaps God designed tears to come from our eyes because we're meant to have someone looking us in the eye when we're hurting, so we can feel their love.
This is why authentic Christian community matters. We're not meant to handle our brokenness alone. We need people who will stand with us, pray with us, and remind us that God is still working when we can't see it ourselves.
A Prayer Worth Praying
So here's the challenge: Will you pray it? "God, break my sin. Break my pride. Break my stubbornness. Break my selfishness. Break anything off my life that isn't helping me grow closer to You."
It's not a comfortable prayer. It won't always feel good. But it's an invitation for God to do His deepest work in your life—to empty you of everything that isn't Him so He can fill you with everything that is.
The gospel is ultimately an invitation to come and die—to our old selves, our old ways, our stubborn independence—and be transformed into something new. When we allow ourselves to be broken and poured out, we position ourselves to experience the most beautiful restoration God can create.
Your brokenness isn't wasted when you know it's God who holds you.
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