Praying with a Surrendering Heart

It’s been said that prayer is not to get God to do what we want but to get our hearts to do what God wants. The truth is, most of us do not approach prayer so that we can do what God wants! We approach God to tell him what we want. Nonetheless, we can still have a surrendering heart when we pray. Here are two examples from David, who surrendered after his prayer, and Jesus, who surrendered through his prayer.

King David Pleads for His Son's Life

In 2 Samuel 12, we come to the point in King David’s life when he committed adultery, betrayal, and murder. When he was finally confronted by God’s prophet Nathan, David immediately acknowledged his sins and showed his repentance. Nonetheless, God struck David’s child born out of adultery, and he became ill.

David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. 2 Samuel 12:16.16

This went on for seven days, then the child died. God did not grant David’s plead. The servants were afraid to tell him, as they thought he might do something out of desperation. When David realized that the child had died, he did something that surprised everyone. He got up, bathed and changed his clothes, went on to worship God, and asked for food to be brought to him. When inquired about his strange behavior by his attendance, David explained:

While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live. But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” 2 Samuel 12: 22-23

David’s response shows his knowledge of God’s character. On the one hand, his God is a gracious God, who is slow to anger and quick to forgive. Banking on that faith, David went all out to plead for God’s mercy. On the other hand, his God is a righteous God who administers his laws justly. Knowing that he has broken God's laws and that every sin has its due consequences, Dave submitted himself to God’s authority as the Judge.

So when God took the child’s life, David could accept God’s decision for justice without questioning God’s character of mercy. And God blessed his faith and submission. If you continue to read the text in 2 Samuel 12, you’ll see how David received a greater blessing than he could have ever imagined. 

Jesus before Crucifixion

In Matthew 26:26-46, we have an example of how Jesus prayed. In anticipation of facing the ordeal of his arrest and the horrible torture and death on the cross, Jesus wrestled in prayer at night in the Garden of Gethsemane. Here we notice a progressive change in Jesus’ surrendering as he persisted in his prayer.

• My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow (v.38)

• Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me, yet not as I will, but as you will. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. (v.39 & v.41)

• If it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done. (v42)

• Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise and let us go! (v.45-46)

When we break this progression into 4 phases and use modern spoken language to express Jesus’s thoughts and emotions, we can see clearly the gradual change in his resolution:

• Phase 1     I am terrified and overwhelmed

• Phase 2   Part of me wants to do God’s will but part of me does not want to go on this mission. What about a Plan B? Do I really have to? I mean, I am willing, but I really would prefer not.

• Phase 3   Well, ok, if Plan B is not possible, I mean, I know you need me to go on this mission to fulfill a promise you made.  Then let it be. I am willing.

• Phase 4    I am ready, let the mission begin. Let’s go.

To get to the point of complete surrender, it took Jesus wrestling in prayers for hours! God blessed his determination and willingness. Jesus overcame his fears, had victory over the desire of his flesh, and became strong and powerful. To learn surrendering through prayers, we must not give up praying too soon.

• When we give up after Phase 1, we stay paralyzed in our fears.

• When we give up after Phase 2, our flesh takes over control and we give up our desires to do God’s will.

• When we give up after Phase 3, we may try to do God’s will on our strength and eventually our fears and weakness take over and we quit.

• When we persevere until we overcome the desire of our flesh and surrender our fears to God, we have control over ourselves.  We give room for God to strengthen us with his power.

While prayer can help us surrender, we must first have the desire to do God’s will.  When you are not interested in doing God’s will, no prayer can make you do it. Yet when we want to do God’s will and are willing to battle in prayers to submit ourselves to him, amazing and powerful things happen. Great blessings and victories belong to those who can surrender.

External Links

What is Surrendering? From GotQuestion - Your Questions, Biblical Answers