“He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn 3:30).
This isn’t exactly a petition, but it could easily become one. Lord, let me daily decrease so that You might increase in me! Our New Testament speaks of increased faith (Lk 17:5), increased blessing in the gospel (1 Cor 3:6-7), increasing fruits of righteousness (2 Cor 9:10), increasing unity (Col 2:19), and increasing love among the saints (1 Thess 3:12; 4:10). Is any of that worth my personally decreasing? I should think so! And that is exactly what it costs.
I like the illustration told by J.H. Lewis about a journey through a Swedish forest. He stopped for a rest in the deep shadows where little light penetrated, and soon was impressed by a beautiful fragrance. Looking diligently, he finally found a small pale pink flower almost completely hidden in the moss. It was the little Linnéa blomma. He wrote: “I thought, if I cannot be a mighty pine in God’s forests, I may be a tiny flower to send forth the fragrance of Jesus in this world….”