Prayers for Strength

Note: Prayer in and of itself is not the source of your salvation, God is. There's no "formula of words" that will save you, for Christ is the sole Redeemer. Prayer is a vocal or non-vocal "lifting up" of the spirit to God, and is also first God's initiative in you. Faith in Christ and obedience to God's will is sufficient for salvation, so prayer without obedience is an exercise in futility. Pray any heartfelt prayer of contrition, and have the faith that it is granted unto you by the grace of God, and then go and "sin no more," and only then do you have the assurance of God's saving grace. Know also that you can lose that saving grace by sinning, so don't sin, but if you do, know you always have Jesus Christ as Mediator. 

Here are some powerful prayers asking God to help defend you against temptations to sin and to promote righteousness in you.

To ask God to defend you against temptation when tempted, lust when weakened, when downtrodden or feeling hopeless, and for the growth of the love of purity, strength, perseverence, and freedom of mind and body: 

Prayers for the grace of God against temptation and for purity:

Behold me, O my God, at Your feet! I do not deserve mercy, but O my Redeemer, the blood which You have shed for me encourages me and obliges me to hope for it. How often I have offended You, repented, and yet have I again fallen into the same sin. O my God, I wish to amend, and in order to be faithful to You, I will place all my confidence in You. I will, whenever I am tempted, instantly have recourse to You. Until now, I have trusted in my own promises and resolutions and have neglected to recommend myself to You in my temptations. This has been the cause of my repeated failures. From this day forward, be You, O Lord, my strength, and this shall I be able to do all things, for “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.” AMEN.

Almighty and most Merciful God, graciously hearken unto our prayers; and free our hearts from the temptations of evil thoughts; that we may worthily become a fit habitation for Thy Holy Spirit. AMEN.

Lord, inflame our hearts and our inmost beings with the fire of Your Holy Spirit, that we may serve You with chaste bodies and pure minds. Through Christ our Lord. AMEN.

My God, You have given me a body to keep pure and clean and healthy for Your service and my eternal happiness. Forgive me for all my unfaithfulness in this great responsibility. Forgive me for every mean use which I have made of Your gifts in thought, word or deed since my rebirth as Your own adopted child in Baptism and my registration as a soldier of Jesus on the day of my Confirmation. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and give me a steadfast will that I may be a strength to others around me. Teach me to respect my body and the bodies of my fellow creatures. Help me to see the glory of perfect manhood In Jesus Christ and of perfect womanhood in Mary Immaculate. Inspire me with such love for the ideals for which our Savior lived and died that all my passions and energies will be caught up into the enthusiasm of His service, and evil things will lose their power. May my body be the servant of my soul, and may both body and soul by Your servants. Through Christ our Lord. AMEN.

The Prayer of St. Augustine to God: 

I beg of You, my God, let me know You and love You so that I may be happy in You. And though I cannot do this fully in this life, yet let me improve from day to day till I may do so to the full. Let me know You more and more in this life, that I may know You perfectly in heaven. Let me know You more and more here, so that I may love you perfectly there, so that my joy may be great in itself here, and complete in heaven with You. O Truthful God, let me receive the happiness of heaven which You promise so that my joy may be full. In the meantime, let my mind think of it, let my tongue talk of it, let my heart long for it, let my mouth speak of it, let my soul hunger after it, let my flesh thirst after it, let my whole being desire it, until such time as I may enter through death into the joy of my Lord, there to continue forever, world without end. AMEN. 

Prayers for the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary to God: 

Mary, Mother most pure, and Joseph, chaste guardian of the Virgin, to you I entrust the purity of my soul and body. I beg you to plead with God for me that I may never for the remainder of my life soil my soul by any sin of impurity. I earnestly wish to be pure in thought, word and deed in imitation of your own holy purity. Obtain for me a deep sense of modesty, which will be reflected in my external conduct. Protect my eyes, the windows of my soul, from anything that might dim the luster of a heart that must mirror only Christ-like purity. And when the “Bread of Angels” becomes my food in Holy Communion, seal my heart forever against the suggestions of sinful pleasures. Finally, may I be among the number of those of whom Jesus spoke, “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.” AMEN.

Remember oh most gracious virgin Mary that never was it known that anyone who ever fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, oh Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. Oh mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. AMEN.

Hail Holy Queen, mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, oh banished children of Eve, to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then oh most gracious virgin Mary with thine eyes of mercy towards us and after this, our exile, show us the blessed fruits of thy womb, Jesus. Oh clement, oh loving, oh sweet Virgin Mary, pray, oh holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. AMEN.

A Prayer for the Intercession of St. Joseph to God:

Oh St. Joseph whose protection is so great, so strong,so prompt before the Throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh St. Joseph do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your Heavenly power I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage to the most Loving of Fathers. O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us. AMEN.

A Prayer for the Intercession of St. Michael to God:

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, oh prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. AMEN.

To ask for the restoration of God's grace, to implore his mercy and the strength to amend your life if you have sinned (even if many times): 

The Perfect Act of Contrition Prayer:

Lord, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee and detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because it offends thee, my God, who is all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, do penance, and amend my life. AMEN.*

*(Remember, in saying this powerful prayer you must be contrite for the love of God, and full absolution after this involves going to confession as soon as you can and performing the penance.) 

The Fatima Prayer:

Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy. AMEN.

The Salvation Prayer: 

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin.You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess the Lord our God and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved. Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself. Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life. AMEN.

Other Powerful Prayers of Contrition