Press play to pray with Pastor Jomo
2:19 min prayer
Powerful prayer to glorify God in all you do. Offer your body as a living sacrifice, use your gifts for His glory, and let your life honor the Lord in everything.
Surrender sounds like a one-time altar moment, but it is really a daily decision to keep your life on the altar. This is a prayer of consecration, of offering yourself to God as a living sacrifice and committing to live everything you do for His glory. You were bought with a price, so your life is not yours to spend on yourself. It is His, and giving it back is the truest worship there is. Pray this when you want to hand God not just an hour of song but your whole self, your body, your gifts, your ordinary days.
A Word Before You Pray
Romans 12 calls offering yourself to God your spiritual act of worship. Sit with how strange that is. We usually file worship under music and Sunday, but Paul says the deepest worship is your whole life laid down, on a Tuesday, at work, in the routine. Not animals on an altar. You, alive, choosing to stay there.
And here is the relief in it. This is not you summoning the willpower to be holy. Scripture says it is God who works in you, both the wanting and the doing of His good pleasure. So you bring the yes, and He supplies the strength. You do not surrender to a God who then leaves you to figure it out. He is the one working the surrender into you.
So before you pray this, get honest about what you have been holding back, the gift you bury, the part of life you keep off-limits, the approval of people you serve instead of God. Then put it all on the altar, not because He is taking from you, but because everything you give a God this good comes back as worship.
The Prayer
In view of God's mercy, I offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to You, God. This is my spiritual act of worship. It is not in my own strength, but You, Lord, are all the while effectively working in me, energizing me, and creating in me the power and desire to will and to work for Your good pleasure, satisfaction, and delight.
Father, I will not shrink back in fear, for then Your soul would have no delight in me. I was bought with a price, purchased, precious, paid for, and made Your very own, so that I may honor You, Lord. I bring glory to You in my body. I called on You in my day of trouble and You delivered me, and I will honor and glorify Your name.
I rejoice, because You delivered me and drew me to Yourself out of the control and dominion of darkness, and transferred me into the kingdom of Your Son, Jesus Christ. I will confess and praise You, O Lord my God, with my whole united heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore.
As a bondservant of Jesus Christ, I receive and develop the talents You have given me, for I would have You say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." I will make use of my gifts, my faculties, and my qualities according to the grace given to me. I will let my light so shine before others that they will see my good deeds and recognize and honor and glorify my Father who is in heaven.
In the name of Jesus, I will let my life lovingly express truth in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, and living truly. Whatever I do, no matter what it is or where it may be, I do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving praise to God the Father through Him. Whatever the task, I work at it heartily, from the soul, as something done for the Lord and not for people. To God be the glory. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
How to Use This Prayer
Pray it in the morning as a way of putting the day on the altar before the day starts spending you. Then carry the one line that matters most into whatever is in front of you: whatever I do, I do it for the Lord and not for people. That single shift turns ordinary work into worship.
Consecration is not a feeling you reach. It is a decision you keep making.You will climb off the altar a hundred times. Just climb back on. When you catch yourself performing for people's approval or holding something back, hand it over again. Pair it with Romans 12:1 or Colossians 3:23, and let your whole life, not just your Sundays, be the offering.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to be a living sacrifice?
It comes from Romans 12:1, offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Unlike an animal on an altar, a living sacrifice keeps getting up off it, so the surrender is daily, not one and done. It means handing God your whole everyday life, your body, time, and choices, as your real act of worship.
How do I surrender my life to God?
Less in one dramatic moment and more in a daily yes. You start by offering God what you actually have today, your plans, your body, your decisions, and asking Him to work in you the desire to follow Him. Surrender is not you white-knuckling obedience. Philippians 2:13 says God Himself works in you both to will and to do.
How do I live for God's glory in everyday life?
By doing ordinary things for an audience of One. Colossians 3:23 says whatever you do, work at it heartily as for the Lord and not for people. That turns your job, your parenting, your errands into worship when you do them as unto God. You do not need a stage. You need to do the next thing for His glory.
How do I use my gifts and talents for God?
Treat them as entrusted, not earned. The parable of the talents shows God expects us to use and grow what He gave, not bury it. Find what He has put in your hands, develop it, and aim it at serving others and pointing to Him. The goal is not applause for you. It is for people to glorify your Father.
