Week 4 - Yield
Fortitude Curriculum
P.R.A.Y.
Pause, Rejoice, Ask, Yield
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil…Amen.
The final step in the dance of prayer is surrender. It’s a clenched fist slowly opening; an athlete lowering into an ice bath; a field of California poppies turning to the sun. We yield to God’s presence “on earth as in heaven” through contemplative prayer and by listening through confession and reconciliation, praying. “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” And we yield to his power in spiritual warfare, asking our Father to “deliver us from evil.” And so, in all these ways, it’s by surrendering to God that we overcome, by emptying ourselves that we are filled, and by yielding our lives in prayer that our lives themselves become a prayer - the Lord’s Prayer - in the end.
YIELD
Luke 22: 41-42
“He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Even our Lord and Savior had to learn the final letter of our PRAY Fortitude study: Yield. We’ve talked before about how Jesus was tempted just like us. How he saw the lost and broken and desires to have all people come to the Father through Him. So many of us know the words of Luke 22:42. But has it sank in for us what it truly means? At the end of all prayers should be yielding; surrender; God has the final word. Let’s explore Yielding more together.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YIELD?
Yielding is defined as “to give way; to surrender.” It means to put selfish ways behind us and give control to something or someone else. In our context here, yielding is the “amen.” It is using the words of Jesus in our own lives. “Not my will but yours be done.” As we go through our process of Pausing, Rejoicing, Asking, and Yielding, we can get the first three steps correct, but can miss the mark entirely if we don’t ultimately submit to God’s Lordship and control. We can have the most amazing time of pausing and reflecting on God’s greatness and power. We can make time to rejoice like we have never rejoiced before with shouts and songs of praise and Glory to our King. We can make the humblest of asks with our hearts in the most correct of postures. But if we desire to hold onto the slightest bit of control for ourselves, we have missed it. We must ultimately arrive at the point of total and complete surrender to the will of our Heavenly Father.
Before we fully surrender to the will of God, we must first overcome three challenges: confession, forgiveness, and control.
CONFESSION
James 5:16 says “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” The practice of Confession is powerful and necessary on the path to giving all control to God. When we try to hide sins from God and our brothers, we are trying to maintain authority over certain areas of our lives. It would be like selling your house but attempting to maintain legal possession of the upstairs hall closet. When we give all control over to God, we need to release our claim on our authority over the hidden places. Confession is a vital practice that will unlock those areas and hand them over to our loving Father to forgive us.
FORGIVENESS
As we’ve been working through the Lord's Prayer, Jesus’ first step in the Yielding process is calling us to “forgive us our sins as we also forgive.” We cannot follow God with reckless abandon while we are potentially harboring grudges or unforgiveness to our fellow man. When Peter asks Jesus “...how many times shall I forgive my brother…? Up to seven times?”, Jesus replies “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18: 21-22). In order for our hearts to be in the right posture for prayer, we need to be the forgiving people Jesus calls us to be.
CONTROL
Jesus prays, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” The desires of our flesh are selfish and controlling. Let’s face it guys, as men, we tend to want to do it ourselves and our way. The final step in truly Yielding is surrendering ALL control. It’s laying down our wants, needs, gifts, abilities, and even our lives to Jesus and saying “YOUR WILL BE DONE!” Regardless of the specifics, what Jesus is after is complete control of our hearts.
YIELDING IN SCRIPTURE
Abraham and Issac
In Genesis 15 God makes a promise to Abraham. He says that his offspring will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Fast forward to Abraham and his wife’s old age, and they finally conceive and have their son, Issac. This would be an awesome move to God fulfilling his promise, right? Wrong. In Genesis 22, when Issac was at least old enough to talk, walk, and go on a journey with his Dad, God calls Abraham to sacrifice Issac, his only son. Imagine what Abraham could have possibly been thinking. “God, you promised me the stars and now you are asking for my one and only?” But, we don’t read any complaints or disobedience. We only read surrender. We only see Abraham Yielding to his Father in Heaven.
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego in Babylon
We all know the stories of Daniel in the lion's den, and of the fiery furnace. But remove the ending of the story from your mind for a moment and think of the ultimate surrender and sacrifice that Daniel and his friends made? They would not bow down to the false idols of the Babylonian ruler. They stood for the one true king. Yes, we see there was a fourth man in the fire with Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego. Yes, Daniel was spared from a gruesome death of being mauled by lions. But their surrender to God still had them thrown to certain death. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego reply to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, with the perfect line of total and complete surrender. Daniel 3: 16-18 says “...we do not need to defend ourselves before you in the matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from your majesty’s hand. BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT, we want you to know…that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. This is Yielding to God and giving up all control. My life is not my own. All authority belongs to my Father in Heaven and I will set out to accomplish His will for my life!
REAL LIFE APPLICATION
My wife and I have lived this ourselves personally. Unfortunately for us, infertility has been a part of our journey. It took us over a year and medical intervention to have our daughter. And more children have not been in the cards for us as of yet. In March of 2022, God called us to surrender this desire and yield to his plan for us, which we have since learned is to become foster parents. We knew that God desired to grow our family and that our daughter was not supposed to be the only child in our house, but yielding for us has meant to lay down our desire for more biological children and pick up the call to love the least of these.
Yielding to the will of God is rarely an easy path to walk down, and it is most certainly easier said than done. Yielding will look different for each and every one of us. It may mean a change of career or staying instead of taking the promotion elsewhere. Jesus could call you to move across the country, or pass on the opportunity because He needs you where you are at. The proper heart posture for us as believers is and always will be, “I will follow you Jesus, wherever that takes me and whatever it costs me.” So what will Yielding mean to you?
CLOSING
As we close out our Fortitude study, let’s take a moment to walk through our P.R.A.Y. process together. Take a moment to quiet your mind and heart and reflect on the Goodness and Greatness of our awesome creator. Rejoice in all that He has done, all He is doing, and all He promises to do. Praise Him for his mighty works and awesome wonders. Humbly bring your needs, desires, cries, and tears before the cross and trust that the one true King of kings will hear you and be moved. With everything in your heart, mind, and soul, totally and completely Yield to the will of God for your life. Surrender to God’s path and plan for your life, whatever the cost.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
- What does yielding mean to you?
- Do you have any experience with yielding to God in your past? What did that look like? Discuss with your tables.
- What areas of your life are you still trying to control? What desires do you need to let go?
- Like Abraham, what “Issac’s” do you need to hand over to God?
Week 4 - Yield
Fortitude Curriculum
P.R.A.Y.
Pause, Rejoice, Ask, Yield
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil…Amen.
The final step in the dance of prayer is surrender. It’s a clenched fist slowly opening; an athlete lowering into an ice bath; a field of California poppies turning to the sun. We yield to God’s presence “on earth as in heaven” through contemplative prayer and by listening through confession and reconciliation, praying. “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” And we yield to his power in spiritual warfare, asking our Father to “deliver us from evil.” And so, in all these ways, it’s by surrendering to God that we overcome, by emptying ourselves that we are filled, and by yielding our lives in prayer that our lives themselves become a prayer - the Lord’s Prayer - in the end.
YIELD
Luke 22: 41-42
“He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Even our Lord and Savior had to learn the final letter of our PRAY Fortitude study: Yield. We’ve talked before about how Jesus was tempted just like us. How he saw the lost and broken and desires to have all people come to the Father through Him. So many of us know the words of Luke 22:42. But has it sank in for us what it truly means? At the end of all prayers should be yielding; surrender; God has the final word. Let’s explore Yielding more together.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YIELD?
Yielding is defined as “to give way; to surrender.” It means to put selfish ways behind us and give control to something or someone else. In our context here, yielding is the “amen.” It is using the words of Jesus in our own lives. “Not my will but yours be done.” As we go through our process of Pausing, Rejoicing, Asking, and Yielding, we can get the first three steps correct, but can miss the mark entirely if we don’t ultimately submit to God’s Lordship and control. We can have the most amazing time of pausing and reflecting on God’s greatness and power. We can make time to rejoice like we have never rejoiced before with shouts and songs of praise and Glory to our King. We can make the humblest of asks with our hearts in the most correct of postures. But if we desire to hold onto the slightest bit of control for ourselves, we have missed it. We must ultimately arrive at the point of total and complete surrender to the will of our Heavenly Father.
Before we fully surrender to the will of God, we must first overcome three challenges: confession, forgiveness, and control.
CONFESSION
James 5:16 says “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” The practice of Confession is powerful and necessary on the path to giving all control to God. When we try to hide sins from God and our brothers, we are trying to maintain authority over certain areas of our lives. It would be like selling your house but attempting to maintain legal possession of the upstairs hall closet. When we give all control over to God, we need to release our claim on our authority over the hidden places. Confession is a vital practice that will unlock those areas and hand them over to our loving Father to forgive us.
FORGIVENESS
As we’ve been working through the Lord's Prayer, Jesus’ first step in the Yielding process is calling us to “forgive us our sins as we also forgive.” We cannot follow God with reckless abandon while we are potentially harboring grudges or unforgiveness to our fellow man. When Peter asks Jesus “...how many times shall I forgive my brother…? Up to seven times?”, Jesus replies “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18: 21-22). In order for our hearts to be in the right posture for prayer, we need to be the forgiving people Jesus calls us to be.
CONTROL
Jesus prays, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” The desires of our flesh are selfish and controlling. Let’s face it guys, as men, we tend to want to do it ourselves and our way. The final step in truly Yielding is surrendering ALL control. It’s laying down our wants, needs, gifts, abilities, and even our lives to Jesus and saying “YOUR WILL BE DONE!” Regardless of the specifics, what Jesus is after is complete control of our hearts.
YIELDING IN SCRIPTURE
Abraham and Issac
In Genesis 15 God makes a promise to Abraham. He says that his offspring will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Fast forward to Abraham and his wife’s old age, and they finally conceive and have their son, Issac. This would be an awesome move to God fulfilling his promise, right? Wrong. In Genesis 22, when Issac was at least old enough to talk, walk, and go on a journey with his Dad, God calls Abraham to sacrifice Issac, his only son. Imagine what Abraham could have possibly been thinking. “God, you promised me the stars and now you are asking for my one and only?” But, we don’t read any complaints or disobedience. We only read surrender. We only see Abraham Yielding to his Father in Heaven.
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego in Babylon
We all know the stories of Daniel in the lion's den, and of the fiery furnace. But remove the ending of the story from your mind for a moment and think of the ultimate surrender and sacrifice that Daniel and his friends made? They would not bow down to the false idols of the Babylonian ruler. They stood for the one true king. Yes, we see there was a fourth man in the fire with Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego. Yes, Daniel was spared from a gruesome death of being mauled by lions. But their surrender to God still had them thrown to certain death. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego reply to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, with the perfect line of total and complete surrender. Daniel 3: 16-18 says “...we do not need to defend ourselves before you in the matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from your majesty’s hand. BUT EVEN IF HE DOES NOT, we want you to know…that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. This is Yielding to God and giving up all control. My life is not my own. All authority belongs to my Father in Heaven and I will set out to accomplish His will for my life!
REAL LIFE APPLICATION
My wife and I have lived this ourselves personally. Unfortunately for us, infertility has been a part of our journey. It took us over a year and medical intervention to have our daughter. And more children have not been in the cards for us as of yet. In March of 2022, God called us to surrender this desire and yield to his plan for us, which we have since learned is to become foster parents. We knew that God desired to grow our family and that our daughter was not supposed to be the only child in our house, but yielding for us has meant to lay down our desire for more biological children and pick up the call to love the least of these.
Yielding to the will of God is rarely an easy path to walk down, and it is most certainly easier said than done. Yielding will look different for each and every one of us. It may mean a change of career or staying instead of taking the promotion elsewhere. Jesus could call you to move across the country, or pass on the opportunity because He needs you where you are at. The proper heart posture for us as believers is and always will be, “I will follow you Jesus, wherever that takes me and whatever it costs me.” So what will Yielding mean to you?
CLOSING
As we close out our Fortitude study, let’s take a moment to walk through our P.R.A.Y. process together. Take a moment to quiet your mind and heart and reflect on the Goodness and Greatness of our awesome creator. Rejoice in all that He has done, all He is doing, and all He promises to do. Praise Him for his mighty works and awesome wonders. Humbly bring your needs, desires, cries, and tears before the cross and trust that the one true King of kings will hear you and be moved. With everything in your heart, mind, and soul, totally and completely Yield to the will of God for your life. Surrender to God’s path and plan for your life, whatever the cost.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
- What does yielding mean to you?
- Do you have any experience with yielding to God in your past? What did that look like? Discuss with your tables.
- What areas of your life are you still trying to control? What desires do you need to let go?
- Like Abraham, what “Issac’s” do you need to hand over to God?