From where do you get the strength for such radical change? By praying about it! But our prayers must be with a willing spirit—ready to be changed by God!
Prayer is supposed to help. Yet it can become harmful if it lacks submission to God. When religious leaders used prayer as a cover to keep sinning, Jesus gave this warning:
Beware of the scribes… who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation (Mark 12:38, 40).
While rebellion lasts, prayer is an insult to God that angers Him and blocks prayer (1 Peter 3:7; Psalm 66:18; 109:7; Proverbs 28:9; Jeremiah 14:12; Hosea 5:6). If you are not living in active submission to God, your first step is to come back to God in humble surrender. Then, and only then, can your prayers be acceptable to God. When you submit to God through the blood of His Son, God makes you righteous. These are the “righteous” who become powerful in prayer.
The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working (James 5:16).