This year in Beyond the Weekend, journey through different biblical models of prayer—one each month. October’s focus is Prayers of Surrender: yielding our will to God’s will.

Read: Luke 22:39–44| Listen: Luke 22

 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42

Jesus kneels in a garden, facing the most painful night of his life. Within hours, he will be beaten, spit upon, publicly mocked, and nailed to a Roman cross. The weight of what’s coming presses on him until his sweat falls like drops of blood. Jesus prays, asking the Father for another way, yet he surrenders his will to the Father’s. He experiences the full pain of his humanity, and in that deep pain submits to the Father’s way, knowing it will cost him everything. His death will pay the penalty for people’s sin and open the way to a restored relationship with God.

Just as Jesus surrendered his will in his darkest hour, we can bring our painful and unwanted situations to the Father. Because of Jesus’s death and resurrection, we can lay our deepest needs, fears, pain, and anxiety at the Father’s feet. Through his power, our prayer can echo his: “not my will, but yours be done,” even when we don’t understand what God is doing or why. As we surrender, we can trust the Holy Spirit to give us strength and help for whatever we face. We do not walk through our trials alone.

TODAY: Think of one trial or fear you’re carrying right now. Say it out loud or write it down, then pray Jesus’s own words over it: “Father, not my will, but yours be done.” Ask the Holy Spirit for the strength to release it into God’s hands.