Thursday Giveaways: Bible Studies for Life

Each week on Thursdays we highlight a trustworthy discipleship resource that can help you in your mission to make disciples. This week’s post is from Bible Studies for Life: How to Pray. Fill out the form at the end of this post by Friday, September 14th at 11:59pm to enter for a chance to win this free resource!

A Prayer of Surrender

Jesus came representing a kingdom totally unlike the political powers so familiar to us. Every aspect of our politics is scrutinized hour by hour to determine the popularity of our leaders and the percentage of constituents who agree with specific policies. But God’s kingdom doesn’t operate by popularity polls. God isn’t running for office. He is the King.

Naturally then, in His Model Prayer, Jesus calls us to focus on His kingdom and His will. In one sense, the kingdom of God and the will of God sum up everything that relates to prayer.

When we pray, we are calling on a King with power and authority to act on our behalf, and we’re asking for God’s kingdom to overrule the problems that seem to dominate us now. God’s coming kingdom promises the change we need is on the way. That’s a powerful incentive for prayer!

So when we pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done, we are intentionally surrendering our desires and self-interests to the powerful kingdom of God and to His plans. It is impossible to pray deeply until we surrender to the lordship of Christ and the rule of God.

We struggle with letting go of our own will, don’t we? When a friend of mine was a child, he went with his father to a store where he spotted brightly colored bicycle handlebar streamers. He could easily imagine how cool he would look to the other kids in the neighborhood with those long, bright streamers flowing from the handlebars of his bike. The only obstacle was his father. When my friend tried to convince his dad how necessary those cool, new streamers were, his father was having none of it. The answer was a resounding No.

That’s when things got ugly. My friend began to cry loudly and created an embarrassing scene in the local store where his family often shopped. The drive home wasn’t pleasant. My friend sulked in silence; worried about what he might face when he got home. But when they arrived at home, his dad opened the trunk and pulled out a brand-new bike! My friend was stubbornly demanding handlebar streamers for an old bicycle when his father had already planned to give him a brand-new one.

We always benefit when we surrender our will to the will of our loving Father. His will surpasses ours in every way. He knows what we need, and He knows what is best.

Excerpted from Kie Bowman, Bible Studies for Life: How to Pray © 2018 Lifeway Press^®. Used by permission.