Embrace Prayer: Abandonment Prayer

There’s a marvel of twenty-first century technology that I’m thankful for everyday – the one that leaves us wondering how we ever found our way anywhere without it. I feel acute gratitude for my GPS as I navigate our new city and state because I know where nothing is.

Even back in Texas, where we’d gotten to know our way fairly well, we often relied on our GPS. But we doubted its instructions the day we needed to get to Oklahoma – a path we were quite familiar with.

When the little blue line had us turn on a road we didn’t know, we felt a little anxious and annoyed. Then the little voice told us to make a left turn that took us onto a barely-not-dirt-side-road, and we were certain we were being led astray. Yet we followed.

Another turn and all of a sudden, we were on the feeder of the interstate. As we pulled onto the freeway, we marveled to see flashing lights in our rearview mirror and all the stopped cars behind them.

The path had led us around the traffic!

Isn’t that just like us? Wiggling our way down the path God has led us… Wondering where in the world He is taking us… Whining about the time it takes… Whimpering under the burden of it…

We battle the feeling that we’re being led in the wrong direction, as well as the pride that says we know a better route, a more efficient way. To remain on the “narrow way” is never easy because it’s also inherently hard – add to that the fact that so many others are over on the wider, greener, seemingly easier path… (Matthew 7:13-14).

Yet Jesus prepared us for the fact that when we pick up our crosses to live with Him, in Him, and for Him, the path won’t always be easy (Luke 9:23, John 16:33). And we’ll always have a choice.

One of the beautiful things of the four Gospels is that we can watch Jesus demonstrate how to find God’s path and stay on it. He shows us how to abandon our own ideas and the temptation of taking the easier, well-worn path. The Way shows us the way.

And we have to look no further than the cross for an example.

Those who taunted Jesus were correct – the Son of Man could have saved Himself (Luke 23:35). He had all the authority and power to do so. Jesus told the mob who came to arrest Him that He could have called on legions of angels to deliver Him (Matthew 26:53). Yet He chose not to give-in to His fear or His desires. He chose to stay on the path laid before Him.

Jesus lived fully surrendered to our Father in Heaven – even as He took His last breath.

Trust

The eighth Jesus Prayer, dubbed “The Abandonment Prayer” by most, is the final prayer Jesus speaks from the cross. It not only represents total surrender to God’s will but illustrates that in the end Jesus no longer feels forsaken by God (Matthew 27:46). In other words, Jesus indicates this Abandonment Prayer is not about feelings but about trusting the Father:

“Then Jesus shouted, ‘Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!’ And with those words he breathed his last.” (Luke 23:46 NLT)

These are words of faith. Christ looks to His Father and shouts an affirmation – I entrust my spirit into your hands! These are not the words of someone who feels abandoned by God; they are words of abandonment to God. This is not the prayer of someone who lacks faith but a prayer of One who completely and totally trusts His Father with His very essence.

We hear a similar prayer from the first Christian martyr, Stephen:

“While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’” (Acts 7:59)

Despite being surrounded by angry Jewish leaders who scoff and yell and threaten, Stephen remains full of faith. And when that same mob picks up stones and begins pounding him to literal death, Stephen’s trust of His Father in Heaven never waivers. He yields all he is – body and spirit – to God.

Such abandonment is what Paul describes when he says, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 NLT).

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

Paths

‘Paths’ are a prolific metaphor throughout Scripture, employed well over a thousand times to help us grasp the way of living for the Lord. Life is full of paths, and God wants us to know we’re given the freedom to choose which ones to take – and that He’ll allow us to live with the consequences, good and bad, for the roads we choose.

Some of us put a lot of effort in listening for God’s voice or watching for signs that offer direction so we can select the paths He has for us. Others of us stubbornly refuse to follow anyone or anything but our own logic or desires. A few live in the paralyzing quandary of fear and choose no path (which is to choose a path…). Then there are the paths that are chosen for us by others or life circumstances.

So. Many. Paths. It’s why the wisdom of Scripture says to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). In all our ways, He will direct our paths. And this happens when we look to Him with hope and faith, when we seek first His kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33).

And as we ask the Father to show us His ways, to teach us His paths, He will guide us in truth and teach us (Psalm 25:4-5). He will lead us along right paths – the ones that bring honor to His name (Psalm 23:3), the ones that test our faith and strengthen us (James 1:2-4).

Jesus shows us over and over how to live surrendered to God’s will. He continues to be our example for living wholeheartedly for our Father, and it always begins with seeking God. Listening and watching for Him to point the way. Obeying despite dread or doubt.

“This is the way. Walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)

Practical Abandonment

It’s one thing to look at Jesus mastering this life of abandoned faith and quite another to live it out in our actual lives. On one hand, it’s simple. Know who God is. He’s our Shepherd, so we’ll know His voice (John 10:14-16). We seek and find; we ask and receive (Matthew 7:7-8)). We choose to trust God because we know He is good and righteous and holy.

Simple.

Yet oh-so difficult. Is the voice we’re hearing His or ours or someone else’s? Why is this path that I’m on so stinkin’ hard if I’m living in His will? What if I choose the wrong path?

These are all questions I’ve asked and heard others speak. We allow distractions to run rampant in our hearts and minds. We let anxiety get the better of our faith. We worry ourselves into a full-on spiral. But this isn’t the way God has for us. If we ask for wisdom, He will give it – but we have to listen for His reply (James 1:5). We can recite the verse that God’s plans are for our good yet neglect the second half of that truth: “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

Seek. Pray. Search.

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

Anytime I stand at a crossroads, I can catch myself asking God for guidance while failing to get still before Him and listen. But when I have followed Jesus’ example of praying with abandonment – of drawing near to God, of lifting up all my thoughts to Him, of laying myself down – I have been able to hear God’s Word.

Like the time I stood before two choices and could see that both the left and right were good. I could go back to teaching or I could step into a full-time position at our church. Neither way was bad. And both would require great sacrifice. But deepest in my soul was a longing to do what God wanted. At the apex of frustration at not knowing what to do, I marched into worship one Sunday morning and laid it all at His feet. I let it go. I asked Him to point me in any direction, and I would go.

Then I shut down my thoughts, closed my eyes, and worshiped – and an image of myself clinging to a raft in a raging river came into view. Without hearing a word, my spirit knew God was asking me to step into the unknown of full-time ministry – and to hang on because it wasn’t going to be easy. The path would be hard.

I must admit that such a vision is a rare moment for me, a not-typical way for God to teach me His paths. Most of the time, His voice comes as a whisper – quiet enough that I can doubt it (and have). Yet out-of-the-blue enough that I know it’s Him. If it lines up with Scripture and can be upheld by trusted, believing friends, I try to do all that God asks of me.

And when we don’t hear from Him? We follow the advice of my friend and do everything we can in the natural and the spiritual, trusting all the outcomes to Him. We have His Word to teach us and His Spirit to guide us. Very simply, these are enough to find or remain on the path – we can trust that they will give us just enough light so we can keep taking steps forward (Psalm 119:105).

This eighth prayer of Jesus shapes us. As we live with our minds aligned with God’s, constantly laying down our will for His – as we live with our hearts seeking His presence, consistently listening for His voice and following it – this is practical abandonment. This is us entrusting our spirit to His.

Lord, teach us to pray.

Father God, we bow before You with humble hearts eager to hear your voice. We ask that You would cleanse us of all pride so we will no longer believe that we know better than You. We ask for your forgiveness when we doubt your Word and struggle to say yes to what You ask of us. Show us your ways, Lord, teach us your paths. Guide us in your truth and teach us, for You are God our Savior, and our hope is in You all day long. Lord Jesus, how we thank You for being our living example of how to live fully abandoned to the Father. We pray that You would help us to know the Father’s will, to choose His paths, and to lay down all guilt, all regret, all worry, all doubt. Give us ears to hear and hearts that listen to your truths and God’s wisdom. Holy Spirit, we are so grateful that You dwell in us in such a way that You can help us know our Shepherd’s voice. We ask You to speak His Word to us in such a way that we can discern how He is leading us. And fill us with courage to choose the way He leads us – and to trust that He is with us no matter where the paths take us. Help us see the light that God’s Word shines on our paths so that we always know the next right step to take. We pray with a faith that entrusts our spirits to You. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
(inspired by Proverbs 11:2; 1 John 1:9; Psalm 25:4-5; John 7:17; James 1:5; John 10:14-16; John 16:13; 2 Timothy 1:7; Psalm 23:4; Psalm 119:105; Luke 23:46)

Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.

• JD Walt, in the Wake Up Call post from 2/28/25, has a lot to say about this particular prayer.

• On our playlist, Embrace Prayer, a song by Brooke Ligtertwood combines a short little section about our prayers lifting up like incense to God (a very biblical view of prayer) and a longer rendition of Rich Mullins’ song “Sometimes By Step.” It’s a great song to lift up after a read like this one because it’s prayerful and focused on the way God’s Word leads us down all the paths.
  
  I will seek You in the morning
  I will learn to walk in Your ways
  And step by step You’ll lead me
  And I will follow You all of my days

• Each Wednesday I upload a “Teacup” teaching video that carries on the topic here. You can find all the videos on my Facebook Author Page, Instagram, and YouTube.

• Many of you have already found me on Substack! Thank you so much! While you’re on Substack, check out the ministry I’m blessed to be part of, the Devoted Collective.
  
  AND…don’t forget if you’d rather listen to these weekly posts, you can now do so on Substack — it’s easy to see and use the audio bar across the top of each post.

• My monthly newsletter, The Abiding Life, goes to email inboxes of those who have subscribed on my website, and I post them on Substack — usually within the first week of the month. My most recent edition can be found there, and you can subscribe for future newsletters on Substack, here.

Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike. This Lent, we’ve put our focus on the rhythm of prayer.

• Today we turn in our Prayer Bibles to Luke 23:46 to highlight the passage and add our tabs so that we can find it easily. Now we have EIGHT Jesus Prayers we can pray straight out of the Bible!
  
  Do you recognize the theme of surrender in these Jesus Prayers? Over and over Jesus chose to lay down what He wanted in order to live out God’s will. His humanness shows us it is possible to live abandoned to God, for God! So, this week may we lift up these final words of Jesus from the cross and make them our own — to You, Father, we entrust our spirits!

• We’re all called to share the truths about the work of Jesus. One way you can do that is by sharing this site and telling others your own stories of faith experiences. Maybe, just maybe, God will even give us opportunities to pray for people He puts in our paths. I’d love to hear about it when He does!

Featured Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” photo by Aleksandra Sapozhnikova on Unsplash.
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