Prayer from My Journal:
Hey Jesus 🙂 I love you. I pray you would always align my desires with your’s. I pray that you would give me the strength to surrender everything daily. I pray you fill me up. Remove anything not of you. I pray you would make your presence known. I pray that that you would empty myself of me and fill me up with you. I lay it all at your feet. I trust you Jesus. You are so good to me. I don’t want to live a normal life. Please do not let me get comfort or fall into going through the motions. Keep me awake. Keep me hungry. I pray I would always live in this posture, with my hands stretch wide completely available for you to come and have your way. I give you my dreams. I give you my time. I give you my people. I give you my day. I give you my thoughts. I give you my possessions. I give you life. Have your way. I am so desperate to know you more. I am so desperate to see you in every moment. I pray the biggest desire of my heart would be to know you. Because when I see you, when I feel you, when I know you, I can’t help but surrender everything and give you my all. I can’t help but sing. I can’t help but dance. I can’t help but love others. I can’t help but say yes. Here I am Jesus. Come and have your way. I love you. I trust you. Amen.
I have always desired to be used by God in powerful ways, but I always tried to do things in my own control and strength. Out of God’s goodness He has taught me a pivotal life lesson. If I lay everything down at His feet and let Him have ultimate control of my life, it creates room for Him to move in and through me. I am learning to truly invite Him into every thought, every plan, every desire, and every moment in my life.
He has shown me that living a life in a posture of surrender is the only way to fully experience Him.
Honestly, surrendering everything has been painful and scary; however, I know that God is good and completely worth all of my trust. I asked God to remind me daily to lay everything: my plans, dreams, comforts, emotions, and desires at the feet of Jesus. He is so faithful to show me areas I am still trying to control. I want to be so radically in love with Jesus that I can’t help but relax in His presence, trust Him with every detail of my day and life, and spontaneously say yes to everything He has for me. I’ve learned I simply can’t do that while I am desperately trying so hard to hold and control everything in my life.
Jesus has gently shown me what abundant life looks like, and it is attained by simply laying all that I have at Jesus feet, taking His hand, and walking with Him every day. It is not easy. It can be hard to let go of some things, but living a life yielded to Jesus is far more worth living than a life outside of His fullness. His plans for our lives are abundant and trustworthy.
John 10:10 – “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it MORE ABUNDANTLY.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13 – “For I know they thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, WHEN YOU SEARCH FOR ME WITH ALL YOU HEART.”
In order to have a heart posture of surrender you have to be willing to trust God with everything. Laying it all down at His feet and stretching your arms out allows Him to remove and heal things that aren’t bringing you life, and it allows Him to change your desires to align with His plans which are ultimately the most abundant. This process is a daily commitment. If you want to truly live in the fullness of what God has planned for you, then it is time to lay it all down and stretch out your arms. Do not be afraid of pain. Pruning is painful, but the fruit you will bear is worth it. Trust that He is the best author of your life. Daily, lay it all down, sit at His feet, ask Him what He has for you, and go with Him hand in hand.
I am praying you all see that abundant life comes when you lay your life down.
Blessings,
Abigail
