A Prayer for Surrender This Christmas
By Meg Bucher
“I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things.” Isaiah 45:5-7 NLT
Let go and let God is a familiar phrase many of us use to comfort others navigating a difficult time. But, when it’s our situation needing divine intervention, it’s difficult to embrace. Human forgiveness lacks the appropriate amount of endurance and strength to reconcile a situation that has been decimated by betrayal and hurt. Enter Jesus, by whom we have access to supernatural strength embrace peace, forgiveness, and the hope of reconciliation on this side of heaven. The prophet Isaiah points out crucial truths in the verses above, by which we can operate in our daily lives. When our emotions start to run away, we can instead choose to yield to the following powerful truths as we pray.
Let’s pray:
Father,
Today, as we pray the divinely inspired words of the prophet Isaiah, we ask You to root these truths in our hearts and water them faithfully. We pray for the surrender of our minds, wills, and physical bodies into Your hands.
“I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.”
Father, when we attempt to be the lord of our situations, help us to surrender quickly before we damage our relationships with the people You have so carefully placed in our lives. Remove our selfishness in disagreement, and strip us of the right to be offended, Lord. Let us remember, You are the LORD. We are not.
“I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me.”
God, we confess we do not immediately acknowledge You when we are offended or angry. Father, we fail so often to filter our emotions through the truth of who You are and what Your Word instructs us, so particularity to do in order to be peacemakers. We pray to submit and surrender our gut reactions and longstanding grudges into Your hands, Father. By Your strength, usher forgiveness and compassion into our hearts and minds, allowing us to forgive and love others as we are meant to. Pull offense out of our grip, Father, by Your strength! And replace it with Your peace, which surpasses all understanding!
“I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I the LORD, do all these things.”
Father, You are the LORD, as Isaiah so faithfully penned …we are not. You form light and darkness, bring prosperity and disaster …You do all these things. You are in control. We are not sovereign over our lives. You are. We are not in control of the created universe. You are. Father, when we are bent on our way and our timing, please strip our hearts of the pride and selfishness which prevents us from surrendering to You. We cannot make another human heart understand our point of view, God. And it’s frustrating! Often, we feel misunderstood, wrongly accused, and slighted by the offense. Help us to surrender our perspective of every situation, Father.
You, Lord, make things happen. Our prayers today are for the full surrender of our lives into Your hands. Things we would give our lives to mend, we turn over to You, Father. Because we can’t fix it in our strength. We need You, Author of every heart, to help us reach another to achieve reconciliation. Do it, Father, as only You can. You do these things, Lord. You are the God of miracles. As we surrender, we pray for the littering of Your miracles to come to fruition in our lives …not just for our comfort or satisfaction, peace or prosperity. Let all these things be done for Your glory, Lord. Because Peace is truly something You accomplish.
In Jesus’ Names, Amen.
Photo credit: ©Playbackmedia.com/Sparrowstock/David Clark
Meg writes about everyday life within the love of Christ at megbucher.com. She is the author of “Friends with Everyone, Friendship within the Love of Christ,” “Surface, Unlocking the Gift of Sensitivity,” “Glory Up, The Everyday Pursuit of Praise,” “Home, Finding Our Identity in Christ,” and "Sent, Faith in Motion." Meg earned a Marketing/PR degree from Ashland University but stepped out of the business world to stay home and raise her two daughters …which led her to pursue her writing passion. A contributing writer for Salem Web Network since 2016, Meg is now thrilled to be a part of the editorial team at Salem Web Network. Meg loves being involved in her community and local church, leads Bible study, and serves as a youth leader for teen girls.
Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
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