1. To declare yourself defeated
2. To give up possession or control of something
3. To abandon your rights to something
4. An act of willing submission of control.
Lord, I surrender. I know I’m not strong enough to fight on my own and if I try, Satan will surely win. God, I surrender control, I surrender my life, I surrender it all and I fall before you.
“To give unselfishly, to love the least of these, Jesus I'm learning how to live with open hands. All these treasures that I own will never satisfy my soul, Jesus I lay them at your throne with open hands. I lift my hands open wide let the whole world see how you love, how you died, how you set me free. free at last, I surrender all I am with open hands, with open hands. To finally let go of my plans, these earthly kingdoms built of sand. Jesus at your cross I stand with open hands. You took the nails, You bore the crown, You hung your head, Your love poured out. You took my place, You paid the price so Jesus now I will give my life…” --Matt Papa, Open Hands
To have open hands, it seems so simple. I raise my hands while singing this song and many others, without even thinking about it. But what does it really mean to come to God with open hands?
I guess the first question should be what does it mean to come to God with closed hands? So many times I come to God, holding on to something that I refuse to let go of. A trial, and issue, a feeling, money… anything that I don’t want to give up. I say things like, ‘Ok, God…you know my situation make it better.” and I walk away without ever giving it to Him. How do I expect Him to help if I don’t give it up 100 percent? God won’t fight you for control, so unless you are willing to lay it down, you can’t know His plan for it.
So, back to having open hands. What does that mean? What situations call for people to have open hands?
1) Imagine being in elementary school and knowing an answer, what do you do? -Raise your hand.
2) If a cop is trying to catch someone, what do they tell them?- Put your hands above your head
3) If your favorite team just won a game, what happens with your hands? - They go up in the air
And finally, my favorite:
4) When a little one is first starting to walk, what happens as they get closer to you?- Their open hands go up in the air.
So opening your hands before God, what does that show? It shows that you are responding to Him with an answer, it shows that you are surrendering to His will, that you are able to celebrate in victory with Him, and sometimes it just means “daddy, hold me”.
So God, I respond daily to your call. My answer is surrender. I know you have won the victory. I just pray that when trials find their way- that Daddy, You will hold me.
