A short prayer for discipline: "Lord, I can't change this habit on my own strength. Give me your Spirit's self-control today, help me choose what is good in the moment it's hard, and when I fail, help me get up again. Amen." Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, so a prayer for discipline asks God to grow it in you.
Discipline sounds like something you either have or don't. The Bible sees it differently: self-control, which the King James Version calls temperance, is listed as fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23). Fruit grows. That makes it something to pray for, not only strain for. If your phone is where discipline breaks down first, Prayer Latch, a prayer lock app, can turn each reach for a locked app into a moment to pray for it. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, which is in the public domain.
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7
Prayers for daily discipline
1. Lord, I can't change this habit on my own strength. Give me your Spirit's self-control today, help me choose what is good in the moment it's hard, and when I fail, help me get up again. Amen.
2. Father, I want to be faithful in small things. Help me do the next right thing, then the one after that. Amen.
3. Jesus, you set your face toward what the Father asked, even when it was hard. Give me that steadiness today. Amen.
"And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible." 1 Corinthians 9:25
Prayers for self-control with your phone
4. Lord, my hand reaches for my phone before my heart reaches for you. Turn my eyes from what is empty and give me life in your ways. Amen.
"Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way." Psalm 119:37
5. God, the scroll never ends, but my time does. Help me redeem the time you've given me today. Amen.
Prayer Latch tip: Put the one app you most often open without meaning to on your Lock list, and pray prayer 4 or 5 in your own words when Prayer Latch stops you. Praying the same short prayer at the same moment each day is how a reflex becomes a discipline.
Prayers for self-control with food and drink
6. Father, whether I eat or drink, help me do it to your glory. Make me grateful, not greedy. Amen.
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31
Prayers for self-control with words and anger
7. Lord, set a guard on my mouth today. When I want to snap, slow me down. Let my words build up. Amen.
"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." Proverbs 16:32
8. God, without your help I'm like a city with broken walls. Rebuild what I've let fall down. Amen.
"He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls." Proverbs 25:28
Prayers against laziness and procrastination
9. Lord, I've been putting off what you've asked me to do. Give me diligence to start, not someday, but today. Amen.
"The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." Proverbs 13:4
Prayers for when you've failed
10. Father, I did the thing I said I wouldn't. Thank you that you forgive me when I confess. Wash me, and help me begin again. Amen.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9
11. Lord, Paul knew this struggle too: doing what he hated and not doing what he wanted. Thank you that the fight isn't the end of the story. Amen.
"For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I." Romans 7:15
12. God, you are faithful. You won't let me be tempted beyond what I can bear. Show me the way out today, and give me the will to take it. Amen.
"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13
Does praying for discipline actually work?
Prayer isn't a replacement for effort; it changes the effort. Paul says grace itself teaches us "that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Titus 2:12, KJV). Pray, then make the next choice easier: remove the temptation, tell a friend, set a time. Discipline is often less about willpower in the moment and more about decisions made beforehand.
How can I build discipline with my phone?
Make the decision once, in the evening, instead of a hundred times in the morning. Prayer Latch locks the apps you choose at your wake-up time and any other lock times you add, like evenings. To open them, you pray first, then hold to say Amen. One of the prayers above makes a good start, prayed in your own words in the app.
Pray before you scroll
Prayer Latch locks your chosen apps each morning until you pray. Your first 7 days are free, no card needed.
Updated October 27, 2026 by the Prayer Latch team at Janus Works LLC.