Discuss: 1) What would it take to completely surrender your life to God? 2) What is a care in your life you need to give over to God right now? 3) Write a prayer of surrender. Ask God to help you release to Him what you’ve been holding tightly.
Knowing Him 50: Obedient Leadership
Introduction Peter leads a large group of disciples to an isolated (perhaps secretive) meeting where Jesus will once again give them their marching orders. Then they make their way back to Jerusalem to await the coming Holy Spirit as the movement switches into its...
For me to surrender my life completely, I have to realize that I don’t have the ability to survive on my own. All my life accomplishments and where I am is because of God. It is pointless to fight by myself. God can help me to get my life on the right path and His wants to help me. So why not just surrender to His power and let Him take over.
My care for school is taking a lot of my focus and time away from focusing on God. I want to do good in school and help out college ministry at the same time. But it is not as easy as I thought it would be. I was looking for students to do VAY CORE with but it was put on pause when school started.
Dear Heavenly Father, You are the most powerful God and you are the only God. Thank you for your greatness so that we can lean on you completely. I’m sorry that when I lay in your arms with doubt in my heart that you would let go. But you never had and never will. I pray that I will have the heart and courage to trust fall onto you. And I will hold on to your arms wherever you take me.
1) It seems to me that to completely surrender our lives to God requires humility and trust in His sovereign goodness. Often times, my own pride and ego can stand in the way of full surrender. I want things to happen my way and in my time, but the reality is that His way and His time is always infinitely better. Reading His Word coupled with experiencing His work in my life have helped me to overcome these barriers.
2) One care in my life that I need to give over to God right now would be my concern for the choices that my older daughters make and the path that will lead them down in life. Now that they are older, I realize that I need to allow them to begin making more of their own choices, and this is scary, because I know that some of those will not be good choices and will have painful consequences for them. Yet, I also know that I need to allow them the opportunity to experience God’s grace in their own hearts and lives, and recognize that He will do it in His way and in His time. All I can do is be here for them to try to guide them and point them to Jesus as best I can, providing the boundaries necessary to allow them to grow and experience life as safe as possible.
3) Heavenly Father, I give my will and my life over to You, and ask that You would help me to “cast all my cares upon You!’ Relieve me from the bondage of self, pride, and ego, that I may fully surrender to Your perfect way and perfect timing. Give me humility and patience, and help me to trust in Your sovereign goodness, letting Your perfect love cast out all my fear. Amen.
1. For me, it took me to give up my pursuit of playing basketball for a career in order for me to be able to surrender my life to God. I wanted basketball to be my life. I wanted the money, and the fame, until I realized that what I was pursuing was not for God but for my flesh, so I quit playing basketball for teams and my school. I quit trying to pursue basketball as my career. This decision really changed my life for the better, and it made my life so much more free, and I was able to live for God and grow spiritually.
2. For the first time in my life, I don’t really any care. Ever since the prayer experience, I felt more peace and freedom from all of the things that have been happening and stressing me out.
3. Dear God, I honestly don’t know what I am holding tightly, but ever since the prayer experience, I’ve felt more free and light. Thank You for being with me and comforting me. Thank You for picking up all of my burdens and sustaining me, and giving me rest. For the first time in my life, I feel rested. Thank You, God. A lot of things have happened this year like being picked to be the President of Cru at FVHS and leaving GLA, but God, I just wanna thank You for giving me the peace I needed and thank You for the strength You have given me to overcome this issues. I’ll never be more loved than I am right now. I pray in Jesus Name, Amen.
From Loui
I try to surrender my life on a daily basis. My hopes, dreams, and fears I give to Him because I want to believe that He knows best. Verse “Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you,” reminds me that I’m loved and because of that, my best interest at heart happens even if it includes suffering.
The care I lift to God is the hope of a family and maybe even a child. I’m 39 this October and no good prospects yet. Affordability, maturity, and health all come into play in having a family of my own. My dreams of a career and family seem to be competing ideas. I feel like I can have one or the other and not necessarily both.
Dear God, my dreams is to have a beautiful life with a career I love and a family of my own. I trust in your plan for my life wherever it may lead. I pray that you prepare me to be a good employee, a good spouse and possibly a good mother if these are in your will. I’m loved without them regardless I know, may your will be done in my life.
(Dylan)
Continuing to go to church and slowly allowing myself to understand God and his true teachings will allow me to fully surrender to him. I’m still learning about morales and principles of Christianity and I think a big part of me still wants to continue learning. The care I want to give over is the health and relationships within my family. I want them to be healthy for as long as time continues. I pray to surrender my life to you Jesus and to give me the love that all your children continue to have. I pray that you release me in with open arms.
I think for me what stresses me out is the unknown and future. Just what my life will amount time down the line. Definitely something I need to surrender to the lord. Lord I ask you to take my worries away and that I just trust you during this season in life and my future. I give it to to you lord and ask you to help me trust in you more!
1) in order to totally surrender my life before God, I’d have to totally trust that a) He loves me and b) that He will never leave me/forsake me. Both have been more than settled at the cross.
2) I’m anxious about money.. 4 kids (2 in college) on one income and still putting enough away for retirement seems daunting/overwhelming sometimes.
3) “please forgive me, Lord for my unbelief and lack of faith. You have always provided for our family’s every need..you have never let me down. Help me not only to surrender my fear to you but also show me what surrender looks like.”
Celeste
1) What would it take to completely surrender your life to God?
It Took me more than 20 years, my kids not being in my care, jail, getting kicked out, etc for me to completely surrender my life over to God. I’m alone and I’m scared . You see, it wasn’t just one of the above, it’s a culmination of all of it for me to completely surrender. My addiction had this hold on me and the character defects that came lingering with my addiction. As mentioned before, I find it much easier to surrender and to turn everything over to God. He is the only one who can redeem my sins and restore me.
2) What is a care in your life you need to give over to God right now?
Me. Myself and I. I know that it must start with me.
3) Write a prayer of surrender. Ask God to help you release to Him what you’ve been holding tightly.
Heavenly Father, I need you today. I need your healing and your grace. I need my hope restored. Forgive me for trying to fix my situations all by myself. Forgive me for finding all the different avenues to find help. I now see and know that help and healing can only be found in you. I need you, above everyone and everything else. Forgive me for I at times would forget that. Thank you that you are able to do far more than I could ever do for myself. You’ve covered my pain, burdens, and heartaches. I reach out to you, and I know that you are restoring my battles and redeeming my sins . Today and everyday from now on I am surrendering to you my every need and problem that I’ve carried or tried hard to control. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
It is a challenging idea for me to completely surrender my life to God. If life continues like this, I doubt I’ll be able to surrender all to Him. However, I’ve contemplated scenarios when I can only say, “Oh Lord, my life is in Your hands,” like when I’m on a plane about to crash, hijacked, or kidnapped – moments beyond my control. In my current life, I’m comfortable with everything God has given me, but if He takes it all away, I’ll have nothing left and will have to surrender. Father Lord, I acknowledge that I need to surrender all to you. It’s difficult because I’m so attached to this life. Lord, help me remember that even my surrender to you is part of your perfect plan for my life.
1) This is a tough question because even now I think I surrender to Him, but I am pretty sure that I haven’t fully surrendered to Him. The time I completely surrender to Him is when I face an extremely hard situation in my life, like Jesus underwent before crucifixion.
2) The care I need in my life right now is schooling, not only academic things but also work on campus and extracurricular activities. Sometimes I am overwhelmed because of these.
3) Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for blessing me with a new day and for your unwavering guidance. I surrender myself to your will and place my trust in you. I am not sure what I am holding onto tightly, even though I know what care I need from you. May the day I obey you completely come, and I will continually pray that you give me your powerful wisdom and unconditional love. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
1) Fortunately, I’ve been down this road before; and it’s usually where I am in a corner with nowhere else to turn. I have to come to a realization that I am powerless to do anything and come clean to God, confessing and asking for forgiveness; then turn my life, my future, my decisions (will) over to God and pray that Jesus’ prayer (Your will be done) and ready and willing to follow/obey His promptings.
2) For my son, Jerry, to find a job, and to respond to God’s calling on his life regarding his future family and ministry.
3) Father, thank You for blessed me with a family of my own, and I’m sorry that I haven’t done a good job, providing and protecting my family. And every time I try to correct my mistakes, it seems like I make it worse. Then I beat myself up for not being more patient or more wise. I’m tired of putting up the effort and not seeing the results I want. So now, Lord, I entrust my family into Your hand, and surrender my own idea, and will, and desire of what I want for my family, but how You would want it to be. I’m willing to follow Your lead and do whatever You tell me to do.