The I Am Responsible Approach

Lord Make Me a Marathon Man

by Ron Robison

I give my body and spirit to you

Mold and shape me to you image

Train my body to run your race for victory

Feed my mind with knowledge of your world

Help my eyes to focus on you

Give me a heartbeat with a passion for your work

Increase my lung capacity to breathe in all your wonders

Strengthen my arms to hold others close in times of trouble

Guide my hands to grasp your purpose in my life

Move my feet to carry the gospel to the unchurched

Train my spirit to realize all you have for me

I need a sprinter's spirit

Giving all I have to you

Running as fast as I can

To reach and stretch toward the finish line

I need a marathoner's mentality

A discipline to train for the long race

Knowing there will be ups and downs

And to look to you first to recover from injuries

Thank you for your blessings and faithfulness in me

I can do all things through you who strengthens me

I first penned those words almost 30 years ago; it has been a guiding prayer ever since. Seeing how God continually works in our lives as we move through this journey on earth with Him is amazing. We have no idea what He has in store for us, which is exciting and daunting at the same time. Little did I know how long-lasting the words of that poem would be and how they would still describe my feelings all these years later – but God did.

I Am Responsible is about accepting personal responsibility for the life God has designed for you. In the earlier part of my journey, I often shirked responsibility or blamed others for my circumstances. If you truly accept responsibility for your actions and attitudes then you have nowhere to hide and no one to blame. While it may sound confining, it is the opposite. There is freedom in letting go of what you perceive as the control of others and in accepting complete responsibility for what God has entrusted to you.

For many years my prayer life was almost exclusively intercessory in nature praying for others, leadership, or circumstances not related to me personally. Intercessory prayer is called for in scripture and is needed as a form of prayer but not at the cost of neglecting personal growth. As I have taken responsibility and ownership of the life God has planned for me, my prayers have shifted. They are much more personalized towards me and those surrounding me. I still pray for situations I am not directly involved in but that is no longer my primary focus area. Here are some examples of prayer with personal responsibility:

• Father, how can I change my actions to align with Your will?

• Lord, what do you want me to take away from the sins/mistakes I made today?

• Specific requests for those persons in my small group and my church that I am personally involved with.

• Father, help me to handle an upcoming situation/event with Your grace.

• Lord, help me better communicate with my family.

• Lord, are there sins I committed today that I haven't repented of or that I am not aware of yet?

• Thank you Father, for the affirmation of Your work in my life.

• Lord, give me the alertness to take action regarding Your work which is surrounding my life.

• Father, show me who I need to come alongside with encouragement, exhortation, service, or financial support.

• Lord, how were my attitudes today about x, y or z?

These are just a few examples of taking full ownership and responsibility for your life in prayer. It is easy to play the role of a Christian and ignore your responsibility to be a disciple. It takes courage to pray like this and a firm belief that you are in His arms as you orient your life toward the cross. We can and should continually grow and learn with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.