Today’s Verse
“Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Matthew 26:39
The Hardest Yes
These might be the most difficult words in all of Scripture: “Not my will, but Yours be done.” Jesus prayed them in a garden, facing the unthinkable, and they cost Him everything. They still cost us something every time we pray them honestly.
Surrender isn’t a one-time declaration, it’s a daily dying to what we want in favor of what God wants. And here’s what makes it so hard: we don’t always know what His will looks like until we’re already walking in it. Surrender requires us to say yes before we see the outcome, to trust before we understand, to release control when everything in us wants to hold tighter.
But here’s the beautiful paradox: when we stop fighting for our will and start yielding to His, we discover something unexpected. His will isn’t the prison we feared, it’s the freedom we needed. His plans aren’t meant to diminish us but to complete us in ways our own plans never could.
Today, what are you holding onto that God is asking you to release? What outcome are you demanding that He’s gently asking you to surrender? It’s okay to grieve what you’re letting go of. Jesus did. But after the grief comes the grace, the peace of knowing that God’s will, even when it’s hard, is always, always good.
Today’s Prayer
Not my will, but Yours be done.
Lord, I surrender my will to Yours today, trusting that Your plans are better than anything I could choose for myself.
It’s not easy to let go, to release my grip on how I think things should be, to open my hands and say yes to whatever You have for me.
Teach me what true surrender looks like, not just in the big decisions but in the daily choices, the small moments when I have to decide whether I’ll insist on my way or yield to Yours.
I confess I often pray for Your will while secretly hoping it aligns with mine, asking You to bless my plans instead of genuinely seeking what You want.
Help me trust You enough to let go of my agenda, to believe that even when Your will looks different from what I hoped for, it’s still good, it’s still loving, it’s still for my best.
Remind me that surrendering to You is not giving up but letting You lead, not losing control but placing it in the hands of the only One who truly knows what I need.
Give me the courage to say yes when Your will requires sacrifice, to accept when Your answer is no, to wait when Your timing asks for patience.
Let my prayer be genuine when I say not my will but Yours, and let me find peace in knowing that Your will is always rooted in love, always purposeful, always worth trusting.
In Jesus’
Amen.