How to Surrender Your Thoughts and Bless Your Life

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You’ve heard the phrase “preaching to the choir” before. This is one of those times when I’m “writing for the writer.” God knows I need this, so I’m humbly sharing it with you.

The words, surrender your thoughts, make me squirm. I’m not very good at it. I want to be, and I pray I’m getting better. But I can get stuck on a challenging thought for hours, days, sometimes even longer.

There’s a battle going on within us. The devil persistently presents us with tempting thoughts, and at each of those moments, we have a decision to make…

Do we give in by lingering over ungodly thinking, or let it go by surrendering it to God quickly?

Paul wrote…

 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 

Romans 8:6

Paul didn’t mince his words, did he?

The enemy tempts us with doubts about God’s love and care. He offers us treasures to worship and people to envy. He presents us with ways to get what we want now, when God wants us to wait on Him.

Thinking like that leads to sin.

James wrote…

A man is tempted to do wrong when he lets himself be led by what his bad thoughts tell him to do.

James 1:14 (NLV)

But God says, “Surrender your thoughts.” He says if you want life and peace, “let the Spirit control your mind.”

So, here are 3 Ways to Surrender Your Thoughts to the Spirit‘s control:

1. Identify the thought as a temptation that is against God’s will.
2. Ask God to forgive any sinful thinking and give you the strength to stand strong in faith.
3. Use the Sword of the Spirit, God’s Word, to resist the enemy’s lies.

Here are some swords to help:

God has come to save me.
    I will trust in Him and not be afraid.
The Lord God is my strength and my song;
    He has given me victory.”

Isaiah 12:2

God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.

1 Corinthians 10:13b

I have hidden [God’s] word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against [Him].

Psalm 119:11

The Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

1 Thessalonians 3:3

And Paul continued with these encouraging words…

Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 

Romans 8:10–12

I will admit that controlling my thoughts is high on the list of things that are difficult to do.

But God..!

Has promised to give all who KNOW, TRUST, and LOVE Him through faith in Jesus the power of the Spirit within them. He is the strength you need to surrender your thoughts and bless your life now and forever.

I know He is the strength I need. And by His grace, I will continue to cling to His promises and resist the enemy when he tempts me with his lies.

Let’s pray…

A Prayer to Surrender Your Thoughts to God’s Will

Father, I want to trust and obey You, but like Paul, I don’t consistently do the good that I want to do, and I give in to doing the sinful things I don’t want to do. Too often, I let ungodly thoughts cycle around in my brain. I don’t reject temptation immediately, but let it to lead me to say and do things that fail to reflect Your love.

I am so sorry. Please forgive me.

You are holy and righteous, worthy of all my praise, deserving of my love and obedience. I love You and want to live the loving life You want for me. I’ve learned that the fastest way to become miserable is to focus on my selfish thoughts and desires. You created us to enjoy the blessings of peace and joy by faithfully loving You and the people around us.

Please help me. I pray for help to surrender my thoughts quickly. And I ask that the Spirit would help me resist temptation and stand against the enemy’s lies with the truth of Your Word.

Please help me focus on Your grace, mercy, and love. Help me obey Your will as You desire. I surrender all to You, in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.

Paul said, “Surrender your thoughts.”

He also said that thought control is necessary if we want to live in truth with obedience.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

Remember his words to the people in Philippi…

Pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6b–7

Peace begins with prayer and gratitude.

I love the way Max Lucado talks about letting God control our thoughts and lives…

“I am a spiritual being… After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ.”

That’s a goal I want for my life.

By God’s grace, may you and I surrender our thoughts to God. May the Spirit take control as we walk together, trusting God’s all-sufficient grace.

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