Surrender control

A prayer to surrender control to God

“Dear Heavenly Father,

Your Word has many reassurances to not fear anything or anyone. It includes numerous reminders of Your everlasting goodness.

Isaiah 41:10 ESV  fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Zephaniah 3:17 ESV  The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

However, I confess I struggle to surrender my will completely to you and release control of my life. I confess I fear many things. I fear pain and suffering, I fear discomfort, I fear poverty, I fear rejection, I fear loss of face, I fear condemnation… (Please name all relevant fears). I know that as a believer, I should not hold on to fear. It only separates me from You.

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV  For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Today, I declare I want to turn away from living in bondage to the expectations, pressures, and trends of this world. This world is passing away, but I want to follow Your will and live forever with You.

1 John 2:15-17 ESV  Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Please help me uproot the source of my fears and renew my thoughts and heart.

Has there been a time in my life where my childlike innocence, trust, and devotion was trampled on, and did that leave a fear in my heart to ever trust anyone again? Did I make any inner vow and promise myself that I would take control of my life? (Please renounce these inner vows in Jesus’ name, and replace them with the truth in God’s Word) Also, see Inner vows must be revoked.

Please show me who I need to forgive so that I can be freed from these fears that still hold me in emotional bondage. What judgements or resentments have I held against people that I need to repent of? (Please confess all the painful emotions we felt before forgiving those who have made us fearful and repenting of the ways we have judged them.)

Matthew 6:14-15 ESV  For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 7:1-2 ESV  “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

I may have held onto these things for so long that I cannot consciously identify them anymore. They are now deeply embedded in my subconscious. Holy Spirit, please help me recall such events to my consciousness. Please help me understand how these things have affected me and convict me of the ways I need to get right with You.

Isaiah 11:2 ESV  And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

Lord, please convict me of the idols in my heart that keep me from trusting in You with a childlike faith. Who or what do I still treasure or fear on this earth more than You? How did they become my idols in the first place? How am I being tempted to still idolise them? (Please wait for a few minutes for God to bring any revelation.)

1 Corinthians 10:13-14 ESV  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

Today I will humble myself before You and release control of my heart over to You. I recognise that this is a process and invite You to keep pointing out the chambers in my heart that are still closed and that still lock You out.

Isaiah 66:2 ESV  All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

Revelation 3:19-21 ESV  Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

I desire a rich relationship with You more than treasures on earth that will only be destroyed or lost one day.

Luke 12:21 NLT  “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

Matthew 6:19-21 ESV  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Please come and renew my thoughts, oh Lord, so that I may know and may follow Your good, acceptable and perfect will.

Romans 12:1-2 ESV  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

I turn from sinning against You by choosing to live my life my own way and for coveting the control over my life that is rightfully Yours. Please fill me with Your peace, joy, and hope.

James 4:17 ESV  So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

In Jesus’ name, amen.”