A Week of Surrendered Prayers

Be Blessed and Inspired
Oct 13
6 min read

The following Scriptures and prayer prompts are inspired by the weekly lessons in my book, "Come to the Father: Drawing Near to God Through Prayer and Scripture." They are based on week three, "Prayer of Submission."

You can choose one to read each day this week.

I pray they bless and inspire your own prayer journey!

God’s Authority

Praying to our Heavenly Father and hallowing His Name naturally leads to a desire for His perfect will to be done.

Knowing who God is makes it so much easier to submit to His will and ways, and to His plans for our life. We first submit to Him as Creator, then as our Savior, and then as our Lord. We submit to Him for salvation, for forgiveness, for guidance. We seek His Word as the truth on which we establish our lives. We surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives—not grieving or quenching His promptings, leadings, or corrections. We surrender to humility, purity, peace, mercy. We stand firm in our faith no matter what. Surrendering is not always easy—we still contend with our flesh and pride. It is a constant decision to submit each day and every moment. Submission requires drawing near to God and resisting the devil. It means humbly asking for guidance and submitting to His authority.

Psalm 143:10, “Teach me to do your will, you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

This is a prayer God will surely answer.

Holy Spirit Come

God has given us the Holy Spirit to seal our eternal salvation and dwell in our hearts each day. We are temples of God’s Holy Spirit and with that in mind we must live godly lives and honor Him with our bodies. The Holy Spirit is our Counselor and Teacher. He reminds us of truth, convicts us of sin, and guides us in the right direction. He comforts us in our sadness and helps us live out God’s commands. He speaks to us through a whisper, a nudge in our hearts, a lingering thought in our minds that we just can’t shake. When the Holy Spirit speaks to us, we are wise to listen and obey. We do not want to quench or grieve Him in any way.

John 14:15-21, “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

Asking for Guidance; Cloud and Fire

Through the story of the Israelites as recorded in Numbers 9:17-18, we see that God is active in the lives of His children. We also see a picture of what it looks like to wait upon the Lord and obey.

“Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. ¹⁸At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped.”

The Israelites didn’t move ahead or straggle behind—whether the cloud stayed over the camp for one day, two days, or a long time they only moved when He said so. They trusted the Lord and His timing.

When God promises to do something, He will do it. When He leads us in a certain direction, it’s for our own good. His Word always comes to pass. God doesn’t need our help, but He does require our faith and obedience. I think this probably resonates with us at least some of the time. Rushing ahead, taking matters into our own hands when God did not direct us. We need to trust His promises, His plan, His ways, His timing, His method. It is wise to seek the Lord in Prayer, through His Word, and then trust His timing and capability to fulfill what He has promised.

Have you ever rushed ahead of God, when according to your timetable, He wasn’t moving fast enough? And how did that turn out?

Psalm 27:13-14, “I remain confident of this: ‘I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.’”

It‘s best when we don’t rush ahead or lag behind but rather walk in step in with the Spirit.

Seeking God’s Will, Like Joshua

Joshua 1:7-8, “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ⁸Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Submission means seeking God’s will for every occasion—not looking to the left or the right but keeping our eyes on the Lord and listening for His wise instruction. God holds our hope, and He has the answers. There are many voices that vie for our attention and allegiance. Advice from friends and family can be helpful, but unless it aligns with God’s will, it can be misleading. God’s Word is the standard by which we judge everything else—even the counsel of loved ones. Reading our Bibles and tucking God’s Word securely in our hearts is our way of hearing His voice and being successful. When I say successful, I don’t mean success in the way that normally pops into our minds- I’m not referring to money, power, possessions, or necessarily the things of this world. I’m referring to success according to God’s holy standard—contentment, peace, joy, and hope within. This kind of success withstands and helps us through any hardships.

Psalm 20:7, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

God will never let us down—He is perfectly faithful. We are wise to seek His ways and be careful to follow what is written in His Word.

Psalm 33:4, “For the Word of the LORD is right and true; He is faithful in all He does.”

Immediate Obedience, Like Mary

God wants our immediate obedience—and our immediate obedience brings blessings. Mary, Jesus’ Mother, believed God and she knew that God could overcome any of her limitations. She was full of faith and completely submitted to God’s plan for her life. She didn’t hesitate but trusted that God could do the extraordinary through her simple yet profound belief. Her faith was exhibited through a humble act of obedience, and she was blessed to bring Jesus into this world. She became mother to the Savior of the world. What an incredible honor! With God all things are possible. When you and I resist or say no, we miss out on blessings. When we say yes, we witness firsthand the supernatural moving of God in and through our life. Obedience to God opens the door to a life of awe, wonder, and adventure beyond what we can imagine.

Luke 1:45, “Blessed is she who believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her!”

Complete Surrender, Like Jesus

Jesus was completely surrendered to the Father’s plan for our salvation. According to Hebrews 12:2-3, we must “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Matthew 16:24-28 encourages us to take up our cross and follow Jesus wherever He leads. His life for mine; my life for His; what a beautiful and blessed exchange. God rewards our surrender and submission. Whatever we give up for His sake will be rewarded 100 times over and eternal life as well!

Matthew 25:21, “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

James 1:12, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

1 Peter 5:4, “And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”

These verses apply to you and me! We want to hear that the Lord is pleased with us; we long for the day when we are in His Presence and a crown of life and glory is placed on our heads.

Let’s see the act of surrender as an opportunity for blessing, and as an opportunity for bringing God glory.

Let’s continue to worship God, glorify Him, honor Him, and humbly bow before Him in Praise. With arms lifted high; knees bent low. With postures of surrender and hope. “Your Kingdom, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” A glorious prayer of invitation and anticipation.

I’d like to close with a short prayer:

Lord, we ask that bring your Kingdom alive in our hearts. Lord may Your Kingdom arrive soon on this earth. May Your perfect will of justice, righteousness, love, mercy, and grace take over and reign over every square inch of this world, starting with me.

Amen.