I've been a disciple for a little over 8yrs now, and I remember when I started, and I was in a difficult situation with someone, when they asked if I wanted to pray, the first thought in my head was "NO! What for?!" (just keeping it real...). When I was mad or upset, I wanted to argue, ignore, confront, debate, or just give "the silent treatment". And sarcastically said, these all made the situation so much better!

And as I grew, I would begin to pray (when prompted) in situations like these. But when I did, resentment, anger, unforgiveness, or an ungodly attitude would stand between me & my prayers to God. I remember praying prayers where it was to "fix" the other person who was involved. My prayers were not done with the right heart.

But as I grew in my faith, I noticed bigger changes in me. I found myself praying to God to help me endure, help strengthen me, help me grow. I prayed that God work on me, and develop the heart He wants during my "current" situation... My heart has been a selfish thing through most of my life, so I prayed that He soften it.... mold it... reconstruct it. And with no surprise, my bitterness and resentment that would poison my attitude & damaged friendships, began to lessen.

When I went into prayers, asking God to change people, their hearts & actions, I came out with my own heart that was changed (over time). My mind changed... My attitude changed... my life changed.

Now, if you were anything like me, you probably thought, "Wait! I'm not the one who needs changing here!" But if you haven't learned yet (and you will), you have no control over anything or anyone outside of yourself. You're going to have to just leave "them" with God - He sees things that we cannot\do not want to see. He knows that we have room for improvement. He doesn't have to search for long to uncover attitudes & habits that are "outside" His Word/Plan/Will for us.

God will uncover the sin in our hearts, and this is a good thing, because sin separates us from Him, and hinders our prayers from being heard. God wants our hearts to be right so the answers to our prayers are not compromised.

One of the greatest gifts you can give back to God is wholeness. Offering service or "loyalty" is easy; Try offering up absolute vulnerability (which is funny since He knows everything about us to begin with), and then let Him fix you. When we pray for ourselves, how often are we selective on what He can touch? When we let Him "do His work" on us, we will change. And it's that transformation that will help the people around us to transform.

But you have to trust that God is big enough to accomplish this, and much more.