Surrendering your Family to the Lord

In the quiet of the early morning before day break I opened my Bible and journal and began a 40 day study on surrendering all that I am and all that I have to the Lord.

I wish I could say I’m the type of person who can surrender all that I am and all that I have once and for all to the Lord and never have to go through the painful process again. Unfortunately I’m not.

Several years ago I journeyed through the excruciating process of allowing the Lord to pry open my tightly clinched fists so that I could release my family to Him. While I said I trusted God with my whole heart I didn’t trust Him to love and protect my family as much as I thought I could. But God, in His loving kindness walked me through the process of loosening my tightly clinched fists and proved His love and protection over them.

Fast forward a few years and without realizing it, I slowly took them back and tightened my grip in an attempt to love and protect them. Last week, in the early morning hours, I sensed God asking me once again to surrender my family to Him. He reminded me of His great love for them and how He is capable of protecting them beyond what I can imagine.

“One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong and that you, O Lord, are loving.” Psalm 62:11,12

In Psalm 62 we read of David’s affirmation that God is his source of rest and refuge. In these two verses he acknowledges God as strong and loving. That morning I once again loosened my tightly clinched fists and surrendered my family to God who loves them more than I could ever imagine.

Just a few hours later the first test of that surrender came as I watched an Anesthetist, Nurse and Surgeon wheel my daughter off for emergency surgery. Every ounce of my mama heart screamed, “That’s my baby girl. I don’t know you. How can I trust you will take care of her.” I wanted to hold on tightly and not let go. 

But God in His sweet loving way gently reminded me of my prayer of surrender earlier in the day. He quietly whispered to my heart, “I love her and she is in my hands. I am the Great Physician and will enable them to care of her. Trust me.”

 “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

“God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” Psalm 46:5

“I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.”   Psalm 3:5

My friend, are you like me? Do you struggle with holding tightly to your family? Do you believe you can do a better job than God protecting and loving your family?  Remember, God knew each one of them before they were born (Psalm 139:13-16). He loves them and will hold them in His Hands.

“How do I surrender my family to God?”, you ask.

While it’s not easy to surrender those you love most, here are the steps I took as I loosened my tight grip and released them to God.
Focus on God

“I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1,2

Say a prayer asking Him to help you focus on Him and see Him as their loving Heavenly Father.

Prayer of Protection

“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Psalm 91:11,12

“‘Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.” Psalm 91:14,15

Praying scripture over your family is the perfect place to start when praying for them.

Trust God

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8

Trust God to do what He says He will do. And on those days when you forget and out of habit take them back into your hands ask Him to remind you of His unfailing love and surrender them again.

Friend, I know how hard it is to release control of your family and place them in God’s hands. But I promise you God loves them more than you can ever imagine. He will protect and love them. Like me, you may have to release them over and over but each time it will be a little easier.

I would love to pray for you as you work through surrendering your family to God. Leave a comment below or click the “Contact” button above to send me an email. Join us on The Calm of His Presence Facebook page where I share more prayers for our family.

In His Calm,