Prayer of Surrender As Though We Are Clay Pots Being Shaped By an Expert Potter

Tuesday August 11, 2020

Prayer of Surrender

I have this special clay mug. It’s not too pretty but it’s very special. Some teachers I used to work with in Taiwan made it for me and gave it to me when I came back to Canada. It has all their names on it. It sits on my desk and I use it to hold my pens. I think about these wonderful friends and pray for them when I see this clay pot.

There’s a lovely story in the Bible about making a clay pot. I think it has something to say to us today as we come to God

Listen to the story.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:

“Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the handof the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.

Jeremiah 18:1-6

God in heaven created you and I. He made us with great love. He knows the good plans He has for our lives. God knows what we need from day to day in order to become the most beautiful person, filled with love and goodness.

A potter carefully makes a pot from clay. In the story, as the potter was working at his wheel, something went a little wrong with the pot he was making.

Did the potter throw away the clay? NO.

He formed it into another pot shaping it as it seemed best to Him.

Many things happen in our lives – some of them seem to be things that have gone wrong. Only God knows how to make them right. In fact, God promises to do just that.

So, let’s speak to the Great Potter today about our lives shall we?

We know that God causes everything to work together for the good

of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Romans 8:28

Heavenly Father, We’re so grateful to know that You are constantly at work in our lives to make good. We have to submit ourselves to You and to what You know needs doing, but You love us so much and want the beauty of the life You’ve created in us to come forth so we trust You with ourselves.

Come and work in us today as seems best to You. Thank you that you can make good out of even our mistakes, our suffering, even the impact of this pandemic on us. Only a God like you would know how to do that.

Thank you for sending Jesus into the world to die on the cross for us for all the sinful broken things that we would do and that others would do to us. Once again today, in any areas of our thoughts and emotions where pain and injustice, anger and resentment have taken up root, we give you permission to reshape and remove all that takes away our beauty before You.

For the life of every living thing is in his hand,

and the breath of every human being.

Job 12:10

We’re so grateful that our lives are held in Your hands and that even though we feel like our lives are whirling out of control, we’re actually like clay going around but having Your expert hands pushing and pulling and stretching and giving just enough pressure and just enough lifting up that we become something far more beautiful than what we could imagine but what You’ve had in mind all along.

You, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter;

we are all the work of your hand.

Isaiah 64:8

Once again today we want to affirm our surrender of all of the circumstances of our lives, our hopes and dreams, our disappointments and failures, our joys and sorrow – all of it we put into Your hands. As meekly as clay sits under the hand of the potter, so we want to make ourselves available to You today. We surrender to Your wise vision. We surrender to Your expert balancing of things in us and around us. We trust Your ability to make a masterpiece of us – useful for Your purposes.

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,

so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Ephesians 2:10

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like

fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear

that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

2 Corinthians 4:7