PRAYERFUL SURRENDER

Prayer is talking  WITH God ......  not to Him.      It is ........  seeking Him first .......  waiting in His presence.    It's taking the time  to ask God,  to  show you what  His will is for each prayer request.   Maybe the reason we, "ask and do not receive is because we pray amiss."   (James 4:3a)    Do  our prayers consist of telling God how we  want the situation to be answered?    For example:     "God, please send a friend, coworker, etc., to invite my son  to church.    Just send someone to remind him that he needs You."    Then at the end of the prayer ....... we ask that "God's will be done".    What if my son refuses the invitation - then what?     What if God's plan involves suffering?  Do I still want God's plan for his life?   Yes! Because I have put God's plan before my plan.  I have surrendered my prayers to His will.
    
In the 9th chapter of Mark, a father's grief is genuinely exposed, as he stands by his son.   When the boy came close to Jesus, the evil spirit began to control the boy again.    This helpless dad, with no place to turn ......... said to Jesus,  "IF YOU CAN do anything, please help us".    Jesus replied, "You should not say IF I CAN.   This shows that you DO NOT believe in Me."   Jesus is suggesting that the father needed FAITH.    The father then cried out, "Lord, I DO BELIEVE!   Help me to overcome my unbelief!"  

Is this also true of many Christians ........   we say they believe  ......  but are not sure that we "trust Him completely.    In other words, Christians doubt.   I DOUBT, BUT THEN I COME TO MY SENSES.   God teaches us in His Word ......   to "trust" Him with ALL our hearts and lean not on our own understanding.  (Prov. 3:5)    He also assures us that, "  all things work for the good of those who are called according to His purpose."   (Romans 8:28)     ...........   Surrender involves trust.

Surrendering to God is a relationship that involves FAITH and TRUST.    In our times of crises, many pray like Job did.   That God might alter the circumstances.     But when God's will reveals that we must pass through the crisis.   Will we use this as a "teaching moment" and  surrender, as Job did, by embracing God's plan.    Or deny "you never knew Him" (Jesus).  

Trusting God is not trying to make sense of unanswered prayers.  God wants us instead to desire His best for us ...... to know and accept His better plan for us.    Many times, what we perceive to be unanswered prayer is, in reality, God's way of revealing His will ..... not our will for the situation.

Surrendering your life means:  
-  Following God's lead without knowing where He's sending you.
-  Waiting for God's timing without knowing when it will come.
-   Expecting a miracle without knowing how God will provide.
-   Trusting God's purpose without understanding the circumstances.

Finally, surrender brings peace.    To live in peace means to live as God meant for us to live, in the very beginning.   When a person surrenders all they have and all they are ..... their entire life to God .......   peace is made between him and God. 

Yes ......  No ....... Wait!  Each of these responses require prayerful surrender of our will, to accept God's sovereign will.    (Ps. 37:7)  "Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for Him."        When you trust Jesus with all your heart, mind, and body .... you will encounter the Prince of Peace  .......   the ONE who brings that PEACE that passes all understanding  ......... Who will change your prayer life forever.

"Sometimes the Lord calms the storm;   sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child."