Honoring My Temple

The Prayer to Pray When You Can’t Stop Reaching for Food

• Kelly Wenner • Season 1 • Episode 15

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0:00 | 18:11

Do you ever pray about your eating? Your habits? The pull toward food when you know you're not really hungry?

So many of us pray about our marriages, our kids, our finances — but quietly believe our eating, our cravings, and our body image are too small or too vain to bring before God. They aren't. Your habits shape who you're becoming. And the person God is forming in you is being shaped, breath by breath, choice by choice, in the small moments no one sees.

In this episode of Honoring My Temple, I'm sharing a prayer a friend gave me — a beautiful, simple prayer for self-control that you can save, screenshot, and come back to again and again. I'm also walking you through how to use breath prayers in the moments you need God most — when stress hits, when comparison creeps in, when you're standing in front of the pantry at 9pm and you know you're not actually hungry.

Inside this episode:

  • Why your eating, your habits, and your self-discipline matter to God
  • A powerful prayer for self-control (saved at the bottom of these notes)
  • What breath prayers are and why they're a beautiful tool for in-the-moment temptation
  • How to identify what you're really feeling — and how to choose a prayer that meets you there
  • Why prayer and action go together (and what to do when the pull hits hard)
  • The kind of person God is forming in you — one breath, one choice, one redirection at a time

If you've ever felt ruled by food, or stuck in a cycle of stress eating and comfort eating, this episode is for you. You are more capable than you think — because He is with you.

🤍 SAVE THIS PRAYER

Heavenly Father, develop the fruit of self-control in my life. I know self-control comes not from within me, but from the Holy Spirit at work in me. Continue to build more self-control into my life. Rather than resist or self-sabotage, help me desire to have more structure, commitment, and dedication with my food and exercise choices. Come, Holy Spirit. Amen.

If this episode encouraged you, would you share it with a friend who needs it? And don't forget to follow Honoring My Temple wherever you listen, so you don't miss what's coming next.

Connect & Go Deeper

SPEAKER_00

Welcome to the Honoring My Temple podcast. If you're looking to put God at the center of your life and live that out practically through your health, habits, and everyday choices, this podcast is for you. I'm Kelly Wenner, founder of Soul Strength Fit and author of Honoring My Temple. Here we explore biblical wisdom and how to apply it to real life, your mindset, food, exercise, and the habits that shape who you're becoming. Let's get started. How fortunate we are to have a God who wants to be with us in every battle, in every victory. A God who says, whatever you're worried about, whatever you're struggling with, whatever it is that's making you feel discouraged or overwhelmed or anxious, bring it to me. I'm here to listen. I'm here to help. Cast all your anxieties on me, he says. If you're worried about it, pray about it. So let me ask you something today. Do you pray for the strength and self-discipline to stick with a workout routine? To put down the snack you don't actually need? To walk away from the pantry when you're not really hungry? Or does that somehow feel unspiritual? Like you'd be wasting God's time. Like those things aren't important enough to bring before Him. The diligence, the focus, the discipline you bring to your life, the work in front of you, the habits you build, the way you steward your body, that's part of your character. Because godly character isn't something we live out in just one area. It shapes every part of who we are. Being able to consistently make wise choices, even about something as ordinary as what you eat, that's a character trait. Self-discipline is a character trait. The willingness to pursue excellence instead of settling for mediocrity is a character trait. And these aren't just character traits, they're the fruit of a life walking with God. The life God wants for you is one marked by peace, strength, wisdom, self-discipline, and joy. So if your eating habits or your health habits are quietly stealing any of those things from you, that matters. It matters to you, and it matters to him. Your body is your temple, your house, and what happens inside that house, the thoughts you allow, the habits you keep, the way you treat yourself, all of it is something you can bring before God. None of it is too small, none of it is too vain, none of it is a waste of his time. So today, I want to share a few simple practical ways to actually invite God into this part of your life. Not in a someday way, in a today way, in a standing in front of the pantry at 9 p.m. way. The first one is a prayer. A friend of mine shared it recently in a small group. It's short, it's simple, it's powerful, exactly the kind of prayer you can use in real moments. But before I read it to you, let me tell you why it landed so hard. I've talked before in this podcast about going through a stretch where life felt difficult, and I noticed myself reaching for food or pouring a glass of wine at the end of the day, not to celebrate anything, just to escape. And maybe you've been there too. But honestly, that's not the only time I feel the pull toward food. It's not the only time I find myself reaching to eat when I know I don't need to be eating. I notice it during the day when I'm working from home and there's a hard task in front of me. Suddenly I'm wandering into the kitchen looking for a snack I don't need. It's not hunger. It's procrastination, wearing a snack-shaped disguise. I notice it at night when the family's settling in to watch a show, and I'm pulled almost magnetically toward a bag of chips or a handful of MMs. Not because I'm hungry, just because comfort is calling. I notice it in the middle of the day when something has stressed me out or I'm battling comparison or worry, when I feel overwhelmed and I find myself reaching for a snack to distract me from what I'm actually feeling. And here's the thing: sometimes these moments feel like no big deal. A handful of candy on the couch while the show is on, who cares? It's small, it's nothing. But other times it doesn't feel like nothing at all. It feels like a pull you didn't ask for. It feels like a battle inside you between the part of you that wants to mask the feeling, soothe the stress, distract from whatever's hard, and the part of you that wants to be a different kind of person. A person who doesn't reach for food every time something feels hard or uncomfortable, someone who eats with gratitude and wisdom, someone whose choices line up with the person they want to be, someone who isn't ruled by food. That tension is real and it's exhausting. So whether the moment feels insignificant or whether it feels like a quiet war inside you, both of them matter. Both of them are shaping you. Because it's our moment-by-moment living that shapes who we are. We are characterized by what we repeatedly do, not by what we want to do, not by what we intend to do, but what we actually do over and over again. And when we let these small habits quietly slip in, when we let the good ones quietly fall away, we're not just sabotaging a fitness goal. We're shaping the person we're becoming. So the first step to changing your habits, your eating, your relationship with food, is just noticing. Becoming aware of where bad habits are subtly sneaking in. Becoming aware of where good habits are quietly falling away. You can't bring something to God if you haven't even noticed it's there. And once we start noticing, something else becomes clear. This isn't a prayer about a number on a scale or a smaller pant size. It's a prayer about who we're becoming. People characterized by wisdom, diligence, and self-control. People who live intentionally. That's why this prayer meant so much to me. It captures exactly that. So here it is. I'd encourage you to listen, and if it speaks to you, I'll put it in the show notes so you can save it, screenshot it, make it your phone background, whatever you need to do to have it ready when the moment comes. Heavenly Father, develop the fruit of self-control in my life. I know self-control comes not from within me, but from the Holy Spirit at work in me. Continue to build more self-control into my life. Rather than resist or self-sabotage, help me desire to have more structure, commitment, and dedication with my food and exercise choices. Come, Holy Spirit. Amen. Did you catch that last part? Help me to have self-control. Help me to avoid self-sabotage. Help me to demonstrate commitment and dedication to my eating and my exercise choices. Not in my own strength, but in yours. That last bit is everything. Not in my own strength, but yours. Because Scripture tells us God has given us a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. That spirit is already in you. You can do hard things. You can walk away from temptation. Not because you're white-knuckling it, but because when you walk by the spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. That's a promise. So use this prayer as a weapon. Print it out. Put it on your refrigerator. Keep it on your desk. Save it as your screensaver, the way my friend did. Come back to it again and again. When you feel the pull, when stress hits, when you're standing in the kitchen and you don't know why you're in there, you're really not even hungry. And then just notice what happens. Notice a new kind of strength when you lean into the spirit instead of leaning on your own willpower. Notice a new kind of peace as the food noise quiets down. Notice that the pull weakens when you stop fighting it alone. But here's something important: praying isn't passive. It's not something you do and then sit there hoping the temptation goes away on its own. Prayer pairs with action. So pray and then move. Be proactive. Walk away. Get out of the kitchen. Brew a cup of herbal tea. Pour yourself a tall glass of water and put in some lemon. Step outside and take a walk around the block. Call a friend. Do something. Remove yourself from the temptation. Do what you need to do to fan into flame the gift God has placed inside you. Make it easier, not harder, to walk in step with the Spirit. Because here's the truth about temptation. Pure willpower in the heat of the moment almost always loses. The people who walk in self-discipline aren't the ones with iron wills. They're the ones who do two things well. They prepare proactively, they decide ahead of time how they're going to respond before the temptation ever shows up. And they redirect immediately. They remove themselves from the situation and shift their minds onto something else. Prayer is part of that redirection. The full prayer we just read, keep it close. But there's another tool I want to put into your hands, a different kind of prayer. One that calms your nervous system and centers your mind on God all at the same time. One you can pray in a single breath. And that's exactly what a breath prayer is: a short, rhythmic prayer that you synchronize with your natural breathing. A few syllables on the inhale, a few on the exhale. That's it. It's beautifully simple and it's powerful for a few reasons. When you slow your breath, you're not just calming your body, although you are doing that. Deep intentional breathing actually quiets your nervous system. It tells your body you are safe. Your heart rate slows, your stress hormones drop, the noise softens. But more than that, breath prayer gives your mind somewhere to go. Instead of spiraling through what's stressing you out, instead of fixating on what you're craving, you have a focal point, a short, true phrase you need to hear. Perhaps a name for God on the inhale and a request, a release, a surrender on the exhale. These prayers are for the moments the battle is happening. While you're working, midday when stress is rising, standing at the kitchen counter at 9 p.m. This is what it looks like to pray without ceasing. Not folding your hands and bowing your head every hour, but carrying short, true prayers with you through the real moments of your day, the hard ones, the tempting ones, the ones where you need God right there with you. So here's what I want you to try the next time you feel that pull. You're standing in the kitchen, it's not mealtime, you're not actually hungry, you just want to eat. Before you reach for anything, pause and ask yourself one question. What's really going on? Are you anxious about something? Are you bored? Restless? Are you tired? Which, by the way, is not the same as hungry. Are you sad, frustrated, lonely, worn down? Name it. Just name it. Then ask the second question: what do I actually need right now? Because if you're anxious, what you really need is peace. If you're restless, what you really need is calm. If you're sad, what you really need is comfort or joy. If you're being pulled towards something just for the indulgence of it, what you really need is strength to walk away. Food can't give you these gifts. Not really, not for more than a few moments, but God can. And he's right there waiting to be invited in. So for example, if you're anxious, your breath prayer might sound something like this. On the inhale, Lord, fill me with your peace. On the exhale, I give my anxieties to you. If you're feeling pulled toward food for comfort, it might sound like this. On the inhale, you alone, God, are my portion. On the exhale, you alone are my cup. When I'm anxious, I often pray to be still and know that I am God. When I'm restless or troubled, I might pray, God, my Father, bring me your peace. When I feel pulled toward temptation, I pray, You, Lord, are my strength. I fix my eyes on you. There are no wrong words, there are no wrong prayers. The key is knowing what your heart actually needs, slowing your breath, focusing your attention and bringing it to Him. Here's how I usually use them. When I feel that pull, I get out of the kitchen, I'll step outside and walk around the block. I do a quick check-in with myself, what's actually going on? And I name it. I'm anxious about that conversation, that email, that thing weighing on me. I remind myself that food isn't the answer to any of it. And I ask, what do I really want? I want God's peace. Then I put together a short prayer. Usually it comes quickly. I think the Holy Spirit meets us in that moment. My loving Father, bring me your peace. And I pray it over and over the whole walk. A four-second inhale, my loving Father, a pause, a long exhale, bring me your peace over and over. The whole thing takes me five, maybe ten minutes, and it's a complete reset. You can walk like I do, or you can find a quiet spot, your back patio, your front porch, your bedroom, sit down and just pray for a few minutes. Keep your breath slow. Try four seconds in, hold for a few few moments, and then four seconds out. Keep your mind focused. Stay in tune with the spirit. Repeat as needed. And honestly, I don't just use breath prayers when I'm tempted to eat. I use them when I'm staring at a to-do list that feels longer than the day. I use them when I catch myself sliding into comparison, feeling like I'm not doing enough, not being enough. I use them when finances feel heavier, or I'm navigating the hard work of raising teens and young adults. And I just need wisdom I don't have on my own. Because the more I practice this in the small moments, turning to him while I'm folding laundry, while I'm working from home, while I'm walking to my car, the more naturally I turn to him in the harder ones. It's a muscle. Every time you use it, it gets stronger. And I want you to hear this clearly. This isn't about doing it perfectly. This is about practice, about a slow, gradual becoming. Every time you pause, every time you breathe, every time you turn to him instead of the pantry, something shifts. You're just, you're not just, rather, you're not just resisting a craving. You're being shaped. You're becoming a person who walks in step with the spirit, a person characterized by wisdom, by self-control, by peace. There is power in prayer. And so often the power of prayer is in the way it impacts us. It stops us, it redirects us, it calms us, it comforts us, it changes our focus, it reconnects us to the spirit. So this week, keep the prayer for self-control close at hand. Save it as your screensaver. Come back to it again and again and use breath prayers as a shield and a weapon, whatever the emotion you're battling. Because the question I asked at the beginning of this episode wasn't a small one. Do you pray about your eating, your habits, your health? My prayer for you is that by next week the answer is yes. And that you've already felt him meet you in the moments you invited him into. Because when you seek God, he answers every time. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. And yes, that absolutely includes changing your eating habits and your health habits. Thanks for spending this time with me. To learn more, visit SoulStrengthFit.com.