Day 3: Not My Will, But Yours
40 Days of Prayer & Fasting
Prayer Focus: Complete Surrender
“Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Luke 22:42 ESV
Day 1, our prayer was “Lord, search me.”
Day 2, our prayer was “Lord, cleanse me.”
Today, we take another step in consecration:
“Lord, I surrender.”
There is a difference between asking God to be part of our plans and completely surrendering our plans to God.
Sometimes we come to the Lord already knowing what we want Him to do. We have an outcome in mind. We know which door we want opened, which direction we want things to go, and what we believe the answer should look like.
Then we pray for God to make it happen.
But surrender prays differently.
Surrender says:
“Lord, I have desires, plans, and preferences, but I want Your will more than I want my own.”
Jesus Shows Us What Surrender Looks Like
In Luke 22, Jesus is praying in Gethsemane shortly before the cross.
He knows what is ahead. His prayer is deeply honest, yet it ultimately comes down to complete submission to the Father's will:
“Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42 ESV)
That is one of the most powerful prayers we can pray.
Not because our desires don't matter to God.
Not because we stop asking Him for things.
But because we reach the place where His will matters more to us than our preferred outcome.
That is surrender.
Put Everything on the Altar
Romans 12:1 calls us to present ourselves to God as a “living sacrifice…”
The problem with a living sacrifice is that it can climb back off the altar.
We surrender something to God and then pick it back up.
We surrender our future, then start worrying about it again.
We surrender a relationship, then try to control it.
We surrender a decision, then become determined that God must answer the way we want.
We surrender our plans, then ask God to approve them.
Today, let's put everything back on the altar.
Our plans.
Our expectations.
Our preferences.
Our fears.
Our finances.
Our relationships.
Our ministries.
Our futures.
Everything belongs to Him.
This Includes Harvest
This prayer is important for us as a church right now.
We believe the Lord is leading Harvest into new territory. We are preparing for Englewood and looking toward what God has ahead for our church.
We have plans. We have ideas. We have things we believe God is showing us.
But throughout these 40 days, our prayer cannot simply be:
“God, bless what we have decided to do.”
Our prayer must remain:
“Lord, Your will be done.”
If He redirects us, we want to be redirected.
If He opens a door, we want to walk through it.
If He closes a door, we don't want to force it open.
If His timing is different from ours, we want His timing.
If His plan looks different from ours, we want His plan.
Our confidence isn't ultimately in a location, a strategy, or a plan.
Our confidence is in the One who is leading us.
Surrender Makes Us Ready to Follow
Proverbs 3:5–6 tells us to trust the Lord rather than leaning on our own understanding and to acknowledge Him in all our ways.
There will always be things we cannot see.
Especially when entering new territory.
Israel didn't know everything waiting on the other side of the Jordan. They simply had to trust the God who was leading them across it.
The same is true for us.
We don't need to know everything God will do during these 40 days.
We don't need every detail of the next season.
We need surrendered hearts that are ready to follow Him.
Today's Prayer Focus
Surrender Your Plans
Give God your personal plans and expectations for the future.
Surrender Your Preferences
Ask yourself whether there is an outcome you have become unwilling to release.
Surrender Your Fears
Give God the things you are trying to control because you're afraid of what might happen.
Surrender Harvest
Pray that every decision we make as a church would remain submitted to the will and leadership of God.
Surrender Again
Take anything you have picked back up and place it before the Lord again.
Today's Prayer
Father, today I surrender myself completely to You.
I surrender my plans, my desires, my expectations, my fears, and my future. Forgive me for the times I have asked You to follow my plans instead of asking You to lead my life.
I want Your will more than my own.
I surrender Harvest to You. This church belongs to You. Englewood belongs to You. Brookville belongs to You. Our future belongs to You. Every decision, every opportunity, every resource, and every person belongs to You.
Open the doors You want opened and close the doors You want closed. Lead us by Your presence, and give us the courage to follow wherever You lead.
We don't simply want You to bless our plans.
We want Your plans.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Additional Scriptures
Romans 12:1–2 — Presenting ourselves completely to God.
Proverbs 3:5–6 — Trusting His direction rather than our own understanding.
Psalm 37:5 — Committing our way to the Lord.
Galatians 2:20 — A life surrendered to Christ.
Matthew 6:10 — “Your will be done…”
Today's Challenge
Identify one thing you have struggled to completely surrender to God.
Name it.
Pray about it specifically.
Then tell the Lord:
