Scriptures About Surrendering to God

As a Christian, I think one of the most challenging but most important things we can do is learn the act of surrendering to God, to His will, and to His ways. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, many people like to conveniently leave out the “Lord” part. We want the saving—we just don’t want to be told what to do or how to live by a master. We want to be our own “lord”. As true followers of Christ, we must learn the act of submitting and surrendering to his lordship. We can’t simultaneously follow Jesus and follow our own agenda.

Below are some scriptures with examples of ways of surrendering to God by doing things like abiding, submitting, humbling & denying ourselves, being still and waiting on God’s direction, obeying God’s will & word, recognizing the He’s God and we’re not, and using Jesus’ example of surrender. In this post, there are some example prayers of surrendering to God.

Scriptures About Surrendering to God

Surrendering by abiding

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15:1-7 (ESV)

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4:8 (ESV)

“And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5 (NLT)

Surrendering by submitting

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 (ESV)

“Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.” Romans 6:13 (NLT)

Surrendering by humbling & denying yourself

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:10 (NIV)

“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.” 1 Peter 5:6 (NLT)

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25 (ESV)

“And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34 (ESV)

“And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23 (ESV)

“So then, any of you who does not forsake (renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye to) all that he has cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33 (AMPC)

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)

Surrendering by being still (don’t act on your own—wait on God’s direction)

“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” Psalm 46:10 (NLT)

“Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.” Psalm 37:7 (NLT)

“LORD, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.” Jeremiah 10:23 (NIV)

“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10 (NIV)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 (NLT)

Surrendering to God’s will and obeying God and His Word

“He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”” Matthew 26:39 (NLT) *see also Matthew 26:42, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42, John 6:38

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10 (ESV)

““Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.” Matthew 7:21 (NLT)

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” James 1:22 (NLT)

“My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes observe my ways.” Proverbs 23:26 (ESV)

“To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations” Revelation 2:26 (NIV)

Surrendering to the fact that He’s God and you’re not.

“You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3 (ESV)

“You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other.” Deuteronomy 4:45 (NIV)

“I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God…” Isaiah 45:5a (ESV)

“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’” Isaiah 45:9 (NLT)

Surrendering as Jesus surrendered

“He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30 (NIV)

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” John 4:34 (NIV)

“So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” John 5:19 (NLT)

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” John 15:9 (NIV)

“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8 (NLT)

**see also Matthew 26:39, Matthew 26:42, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42, John 6:38

Take Some Practical Steps to Use These Scriptures About Surrendering to God:

• First, read over the verses and see examples of different ways of surrendering to God.

• Then, print this list of verses for future reference that you can use when you need to be reminded to surrender to God.

• Next, call on the Lord when you need help surrendering. Use one (or more of these verses) as a prayer to surrender to God.

**Example prayer(s) this post.

• Finally, pick one or two verses to memorize or write down on an index card or post-it note and place it where you can see it as a reminder about surrendering.

For example put them on the bathroom mirror, the nightstand, on doors, over light switches, on cabinet doors, on your car console, etc.

Which scriptures about surrendering to God are most helpful for you? Share them with us by leaving a comment below!

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