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: Proverbs 3:5–6| Listen: Proverbs 3

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5–6

King Solomon writes the proverbs to guide his son and all who read them in the way of God’s wisdom. Proverbs use short, memorable sayings to teach general truths about right living, not specific promises for every situation. In this proverb, Solomon presents two paths: one crooked, bent by human understanding, and one made straight by trusting God and his ways. He calls his readers to surrender their own understanding and trust the Lord’s leading in every area of life, believing God will make their paths straight.

Our natural bent leans toward what we want, not what God wants. It’s part of our sin nature. From childhood, we grab for what we desire and resist being told no. Surrender means yielding what we want to God, trusting that his ways are better than we would choose for ourselves. This isn’t easy—it means giving up control and admitting that his understanding is greater than ours. Yet when we come to him in prayer, surrendering our will and submitting to his leading, he promises to direct us. We may not see the path clearly yet or understand why he’s leading us where he is, but we can trust that he is making it straight.

TODAY: Pray Proverbs 3:5–6. Identify one area of your life where you’re holding onto your own will—a decision, a relationship, a fear—and surrender it to God. Ask him to lead you, trusting his path is better than your own.