The Power of a Simple Prayer
The Power of a Simple Prayer
How “Jesus, Help Me” Saved My Life
Ben Fuller
I had spent my whole life proving I was tough. That I could handle things. That I didn’t need anyone—especially not God. But standing in the middle of that church, something inside me broke. I didn’t have all the answers. I didn’t even know what I believed. But I knew one thing—I needed help. And for the first time in my life, I actually asked for it.
It wasn’t some big, dramatic moment. I wasn’t on my knees, sobbing. There wasn’t an altar call or a pastor leading me through a prayer of salvation. I was just standing there—still half-confused, half-stunned by what I was feeling. And then, without even thinking, I whispered: “Jesus, help me.”
That was it. Not some well-thought-out speech. Not a list of promises to do better. Just three words:
Jesus.
Help.
Me.
And that was all He needed.
It wasn’t instant. I didn’t suddenly become a different person. But something shifted in that moment.
I had spent years trying to fill an empty space inside me with everything—drugs, alcohol, relationships, music. And for the first time, I realized what that emptiness actually was.
It wasn’t loneliness. It wasn’t addiction. It wasn’t failure.
It was a God-sized hole that nothing else could fill.
I left church that day feeling something I had never felt before—peace.
The Davenports, the family who invited me to church, were practically buzzing on the way home: “So? What did you think?” “Did you like it? How do you feel?”
I shrugged and said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was fine.”
But inside? I was melting. I just didn’t know how to put it into words yet.
The Middle of the Night Wake-Up Call
I didn’t know what had happened to me that morning. So I went home. Went to bed. And then—at 1 AM—I woke up.
I don’t mean I just woke up and rolled over. I mean, I woke up wide awake, out of nowhere, with a rush of thoughts I couldn’t explain.
I grabbed a notebook and just started writing:
“Jesus is King.”
“God is awesome.”
“The Way.”
“Redemption.”
It was like something was pouring out of me and onto the page. And then I fell back asleep.
God speaks in the quiet.
The next morning, I woke up and saw pages of words I had written in the dark. And that’s when it hit me. Something was happening to me. Something real.
God was speaking to me—and I hadn’t even realized it. Because here’s the thing—God doesn’t need a microphone to get your attention. He doesn’t need lightning bolts or burning bushes. Sometimes, He speaks in the quiet.
In the middle of the night. In the moments when you’re finally still enough to listen.
The Slow Work of Transformation
I didn’t wake up the next day completely changed. I didn’t immediately stop drinking.
I didn’t suddenly lose every bad habit. I didn’t have all the answers. But I had started believing.
I had started listening. And little by little, things started falling away.
My 20 beers a night became 10. Then 8. Then 2. Then suddenly—I didn’t even like the taste of alcohol anymore.
My foul mouth that I had my whole life? The words just stopped coming.
The one-night stands, the reckless choices—it’s like God just reached into my life and said: “Enough. You don’t need this anymore.”
And the crazy thing? I didn’t fight Him on it. Because for the first time in my life, I didn’t want to be that person anymore.
I think a lot of people are scared to come to Jesus because they think:
- “I need to get my life together first.”
- “I need to fix this addiction first.”
- “I need to be good enough first.”
But that’s not how Jesus works. He doesn’t ask you to clean up first. He just asks you to come.
And when you do? He’s the one who starts changing you.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV).
I don’t know what you believe about God. Maybe you think He’s disappointed in you. Maybe you think He wants nothing to do with you. Or maybe—like me—you’ve never even thought about Him much at all.
But if you’ve made it this far, He’s already speaking to you. That whisper inside you? That feeling you can’t shake? That pull toward something more?
That’s Jesus.
And maybe all you need to say right now is, “Jesus, help me.”
That’s enough. He will take care of the rest. Just say His name. That’s where it all begins.