Surrender, Pray, Rest

Surrender, Pray, Rest is my motto for life and parenting.

Surrender opens our ears to God.

Prayer opens our communication with God.

Rest opens God’s blessings on us through faith.

When I asked Edie Melson, author of While My Child is Away: My Prayers For When We Are Apart, what she’d put into a Parents’ Survival Kit along with her book, she didn’t even hesitate. She said a journal and a framed copy of Isaiah 65:24.

Before they call I will answer;
while they are still speaking I will hear.
– Isaiah 65:24

Isaiah 65:24 encapsulates my motto well.

Surrender

Isaiah 65:24 speaks of our future when God will create the new heavens and the new earth. At that time, His presence will fill the earth. Sin won’t separate us from Him.

Our relationship with God will be so close, He’ll hear and answer our prayers before we even finish speaking.

Won’t that be amazing?

But what about today?

Christ destroyed sin’s power through His death on the cross.

All who believe that He paid for their sin and have placed their faith in Him for salvation are now free from sin.

Whoo Hoo! and WHEW! That’s no small victory or comfort. 

Sin can no longer separate us from God, but — and it’s a big but here — it can still mess with us. Hence, our desperate need for surrender. A daily, moment-by-moment choice to surrender.

When we surrender to God, our stubborn, selfish will doesn’t get in the way of our being able to hear Him.

Typically our will acts like a brat towards God, shouting, “Na na na na! I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!”

When God wants us to know His will, He can be as loud as He needs to be.

Ask the Israelites who stood at the foot of Mt. Sinai after He brought them out of Egypt. God’s voice thundered such that they begged Moses to ask God to speak only to Moses any more. (Exodus 20:18-19) His voice could’ve drowned out Hurricane Katrina and Mt. Vesuvius at the same time.

God can be loud, but He more often speaks with a still, small voice into a peaceful, quiet heart, surrendered to Him.

Prayer

Prayer is like the starting gun for God’s will being poured out on His children.

On your mark, get set, GO!

He wants to bless us. He’s just waiting for us to ask according to His good will with faith that He’ll answer.

“Believe Me when I say . . . ” (John 14.11a)

We don’t need fancy words, a special place to pray, or a seminary degree. We only need a surrendered heart that comes to God in faith.

Rest

Rest isn’t necessarily something we do. It’s more like something we don’t do.

We don’t worry, beg, or bargain.

We don’t try to earn His favor.

Instead, we rest with a grateful, peaceful heart, knowing it’s all up to Him, and He’s a good, loving God.

Surrender, Pray, Rest

Surrender, pray, rest. Then rinse and repeat.

Edie Melson’s book While My Child is Away is a valuable tool to help parents do just that: surrender, pray and rest.

With 224  pages of prayers, devotions, and parenting thoughts, you can rinse and repeat every day for weeks.

I don’t do math, so you’ll have to figure out how long it will take you to go through the whole book yourself. Sorry.

---

I hope you’ve enjoyed this journey into praying for our children while they are away.

It’s one of the most important things we’ll do in our lives. 

Keep surrendering, praying, and resting!

[bctt tweet=”Surrender, Pray, Rest – The best formula for life and parenting #Stop2Pray #Pray4MyChild #Christ @EdieMelson ” username=”JeanWilund”]