Prayer: Father God, I Need a Baptism In Jesus

Do you feel broken today? Are you so stressed that you literally feel death encroaching on you?

If so, it’s time to hide in Jesus and ask Father God to baptize you in Jesus anew and afresh. When times are hardest, only a big baptism in Jesus helps you get through.

Today, I wanted to offer a sample prayer you can pray to dump the stresses of life on the Lord and receive a new baptism in Jesus.

A “baptism” simply means a dunking that changes you, an immersion that changes you; like throwing yourself into a swimming pool or a tub of dye and coming out a different color. A baptism changes everything to look like and be more like whatever you got baptized in.

And beloved, I don’t know about you, but I need a baptism in Jesus right now.

Last week was a tough week for many people I know, and although I had one tough day, I had a great week last week. Why? Because on the hardest day, I had the opportunity to preach JESUS with my brother Chris Ayotte on WMUZ The Light radio–evening drive talk radio in Detroit, Michigan.

Because Chris and I preached so much about Jesus during that radio show, I finished the show feeling great–and continued feeling super for days as I went about my week. I was just so full of Jesus.

But then the stresses of life started making themselves known again.

We’re in the middle of year-end close for the ministry, handling lots of paperwork, most of which falls on me. I’m INCREDIBLY grateful to have this work to do–but the stress level is off the charts.

Add that to my child being sick, several important appliances and fixtures in my house breaking down ALL AT THE SAME TIME, and a health issue of my own all at the same time as well, and the weight of the stress has felt CRUSHING. The stress of the last few days feels so overwhelming that I feel like I cannot even function.

Yet, somehow, the Lord is helping me get through each moment. I may not feel like I “can” function, but the Lord is helping me to do so supernaturally.

You know what I mean?

I suspect you do, because when one person in the Body of Christ deals with something, generally everyone is dealing with the same things at once. And people have been reaching out to me over and over about various terrible situations they also are in. I’ve been praying over each one.

But sometimes we need more than a friend’s prayer. Sometimes we need the supernatural intervention of God in the form of a miraculous touch from the Lord.

We need a baptism in Jesus.

Only Jesus can help us–both every day AND on the tough days like today. Only Jesus is our hope, our shelter, our refuge from the hand of the enemy. Only Jesus is mighty to save, and only Jesus can fill us with hope and life and joy and every good thing.

It’s in HIS presence that we find fullness of joy. It’s at HIS right hand that there are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16).

And Jesus is our ONLY solution. Of course we should rest in Jesus every day. However, when times are hardest, we have to aggressively hide in Jesus. We have to make doubly sure and certain that we are concentrating on Jesus, abiding in Jesus, thinking about Jesus, depending on Jesus.

Only Jesus can help us now, and only Jesus can help us ever.

Dear Father, give me Jesus.

And of course we have Jesus. But on days like today, I pray for more of Jesus. I pray to be closer to Jesus. I pray desperately, because I’m needy and not ashamed to admit it, for JESUS to help me and for Father to baptize me in Jesus.

Do you sense the same desperation in your life? Would you like to pray with me today for a baptism in Jesus?

If so, pray this:

“Father God, I come before You in Jesus’ name.

Abba Father, I love You. Thank You for being my God; for being alive and hearing me pray. Thank You for spending this time with me, to commune and fellowship with me.

Father God, I need You right now. I need You always, but in particular I want to pour out my heart to You right now, Father, because I need You so badly.

Father, the stresses and pressures of life are really getting to me. 

The weight of stress and burden I feel right now is crushing. There’s death in it, Father, not life. I don’t see hope or how it can change to be any different or get better. You have blessed me so much and I’m thankful, Father, but I feel like I cannot even handle the blessings You give or the life You have blessed me with.

Father, I need help. Your Word says that I can come to Jesus when I’m weary and heavy laden, and You will give me rest.

So Father, Lord Jesus, and precious Holy Spirit, I come to You today. I cast my burdens upon You and I beg You to sustain me; You shall never allow the righteous to be moved. I ask You to be my safe place right now, Lord, for I have no safe place or refuge other than You. I truly have no one else to go to.

Father, please help me. Give me rest. Take the weight of these burdens off of me.

I’m not saying You gave me these burdens; Your blessing makes rich, and You add no sorrow to it. These burdens are things I have taken upon myself when I should not have, and I’m sorry, Father. Please forgive me.

But Father, regardless of how I attained these burdens, I need Your help.

The stress is too much for me, Lord; I can’t handle it. I don’t know what changes to make or how to make them, but I ask You to show me what to do.

Be to me the Rock that is higher than I, Lord:

• Be my strong refuge; my strong tower; my mighty fortress and my defense.
• Be a wall and a shield around me right now, Father; stand in the gap between me and the world that seeks to destroy me.
• Stand in the gap between me and the pressures of responsibility that seek to take my life.
• Be to me a fortress and strong tower, protecting me, hiding me, and covering me from the darts of the enemy.

Father, I ask in Jesus’ name that You would perfect that which concerns me.

I cannot perfect my own story, Father, but You are the Author and the Finisher of my faith. I pray that my faith would not fail. I pray that I would seek You with all my heart, and that I would find You. I ask that You would strengthen me and encourage me; command strength into my spirit; help me see hope and light again.

Father, I ask You to teach me how to rest. 

I don’t know how or when to rest properly, Father. I try to walk as is honoring to You in all things, but people always have something to say about it, no matter what I do.

I don’t know which end is up and which end is down without You, Father. Please, help me. Help me to please You in all things as I walk throughout my daily life, and protect and defend me from the naysayers and haters who nip and bite and pull at me.

Father God, I am desperate for another baptism in Jesus.

It’s only in Jesus that I live and move and have my being. I feel death pushing in on me, Father. I ask that You would repel the spirit of death with Your Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. I ask You to fill me with Your Holy Spirit again, Lord, and that You would keep and preserve my life.

Father, no one understands but Jesus. No one understands but You.

And I ask You to dip me, baptize me, dowse me, drown me in Jesus right now. I know I am hidden in Christ and I am a new creature, but sometimes life gets so hard that merely knowing this is not enough.

I’m in one of those times right now, Father–and I need a baptism in Jesus, who is Your Word made flesh; who is Hope incarnate; who is Love incarnate; who is Power and Comfort and Healing incarnate. I need You, Jesus.

Please surround me in a manifest and tangible way right now:

• Fight off the death that is trying to reach me, and keep me as the apple of Your eye.
• Hide me under the shadow of Your wing.
• Hide me so far inside Yourself that no one can see me or touch me; that no one will even know I am there; that no one will see me at all.
• Help me simply to rest in You, and I ask that You would heal and revitalize and restore my life, my breath, my strength, my heart, my faith, my love for others, my hope, my drive, and my will to live as only You can.

Thank You, Abba Father. Thank You. It’s in Jesus’ mighty and precious name I pray, amen and amen.”

Take a deep breath. How do you feel?

If you just prayed this prayer to cast your care upon the Lord, please leave a comment below!