Day 7 – Submit to the Father

“𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔; 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝐻𝑖𝑚, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐻𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡.” 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑏𝑠 3:5-6 (𝑁𝐼𝑉)

Over the years, I have learned to trust the Lord with the decisions I make in my life, but it has not always been easy. I used to fight this losing battle by thinking I could fix my problems on my own. I believed that if I just worked harder, prayed more, or strategized better, I could control the outcome. Yet, every time I tried to take the wheel, I found myself exhausted and disillusioned.

God gently (and sometimes with a firmer hand) brings me to my knees, teaching me to yield to His will. Yielding is not a sign of weakness. I learned it is an act of faith. It is trusting that God’s plans are higher and better than ours, even when we do not understand them in the moment. It requires humbleness, surrender, and a willingness to accept that God’s way is perfect even when it leads us through trials or delays. We must also recognise that yielding to God’s will is a process that often occurs out of a place of brokenness. Bold prayers for loved ones stem from understanding how broken we once were before we could truly trust in God’s love for us. When we have tasted God’s grace and mercy firsthand, we are empowered to pray with confidence and authority for our unsaved loved ones.

We will only have the courage to pray boldly and honestly over our children, parents, and friends when we ourselves have been broken before God and have come to trust His love for them and us. It is only from this place of brokenness and surrender that we can truly pray, “𝐹𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚.”

Sometimes, surrender looks like a cry in the night, a whispered prayer in the quiet, or broken with a tear-streaked face. It’s in those moments that we recognize our need for God’s strength and guidance. Yielding is an ongoing journey, a daily choice to trust Him even when the path is unclear.

Prayer: Father, we completely surrender (NAME) to You. Use whatever means necessary to save (him/her) from an eternity apart from You. We ask that (NAME) yield fully to Your plans and purposes for (his/her) life. Help us to trust You more each day, knowing that Your ways are higher than ours. Fill us with faith to surrender all our worries, our dreams, and our loved ones into Your loving hands. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. ©

Marie Swanepoel