The Amazing Power of Surrender

We Christians talk about surrender, but do we really understand its value on a daily basis?

I’ve been a Christian my whole life. My Christian walk has been a series of surrenders. It started with surrendering my heart to Jesus when I was 15 years old. I’ve had many more surrenders since then, but not on a regular basis.

Our Need to Surrender

A couple weeks ago, I wrote on this Instagram post about my need to surrender. From my front porch, I felt anxiety physically rising in my chest as I typed my words for the post in my phone.

“Am I really going to surrender it all over to God?” I thought. I know my tendencies to worry, fret, attempt to control, and grab at things that need to stay up high on a shelf. But since I knew this matter to be way too big for me to handle alone, I committed to surrendering it not just once, but every day.

That was two weeks ago today. For the past 14 days, I’ve surrendered the matter out loud to God in prayer every day. On some days, I’ve needed to do it more than once. Ten times, even. Surrendering it over and over again. Claiming God’s promises, saying aloud that I trust him to handle it because it’s too big for me.

The Amazing Power of Surrender

Around day 5 of this practice, I truly felt greater peace when I prayed this prayer. Instead of that tight feeling high in my lungs I get when anxious, my shoulders and chest felt perfectly relaxed. No deep breathing–just surrendering the matter over to God again.

The matter hasn’t gotten any smaller. In fact, it’s gotten bigger in some ways. But I’m seeing it in a new way, because I’m not trying to carry it anymore. I imagine myself laying the matter inside God’s perfectly capable hands. When I do, he offers me peace instead. Peace that I can actually feel!

Surrendering Your Anxiety

Are you struggling with anxiety over a certain area in your life? I encourage you to lay it down in front of God every day. Many times per day, if necessary. Each time the anxiety rises, imagine yourself placing it inside God’s strong, capable hands. He will offer you peace, as often as you need it, when you surrender.

I promise that if you struggle with garden-variety anxiety, this practice will help. Why? Because God wants us to trust him. He knows that our human nature tends to fret and want control over every little thing. When we transfer control back to him, he gives us perfect peace instead.

My memory verse for 2017 was this:

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
Isaiah 26:3 NIV

You can speak this verse every time anxiety rises in you. I did this hundreds of times in 2017, and God gave me peace in exchange for anxiety every time I spoke this verse out loud.

Prayer of Surrender

This is the power of prayer, and the power of Christian meditation. It sets us free from the strongholds in our lives. You will learn much more about this in my upcoming book.

Here’s a prayer to bless you this week:

Heavenly Father,
I praise you for your perfect peace.
Only you know how anxiety afflicts me.
You know that I worry and fret over matters too big for me.
Today I place my trust in you, Lord.
I hand my biggest anxieties over to you.
I place them in your strong, capable hands.
You promise to give me perfect peace if my mind is steadfast, Lord.
Give me your peace in exchange for my anxiety.
I trust you in this surrender.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

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