Listen and Pray: Surrendering to Love
Click the button below to listen and pray through this passage. This practice will take about 7 minutes.
Read
Romans 8:38-39 (NLT)
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[p] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Pray
Faithful God,
You know how costly love can be.
You know the risk—and You chose love anyway.
Teach me to trust Your goodness.
Help me to bring my heart out of hiding
and place it safely in Your care.
Heal what has been wounded.
Strengthen what has grown timid.
As I receive Your unshakable love,
give me courage to love others—
not fearlessly, but faithfully.
Let Your light shine through my surrendered heart.
Amen.
Listen & Reflect
As we prepare to enter into the presence of the one who sees you, who knows you and who loves you…take a few moments to settle your mind and heart. Let go of any fears, worries and set your to-do list to the side.
As you breathe, pray quietly: “God of love, I am here.”
Release any tension you are carrying in your chest or shoulders.Make room for love to meet you.
God of Advent,
Meet us gently here. Where we are cautious, be patient. Where we are weary, be tender. Where we are afraid to fall again,
hold us steady.
Love is beautiful—but it is also frightening. There is a reason we call it “falling in love.” Falling suggests risk. Loss of control. The willingness to step into something that cannot be fully managed or contained.
To love is to surrender. To open ourselves to the possibility of being hurt…or worse, betrayed.
Jesus knows this risk intimately. He loved deeply, freely, and fully—and He was betrayed… badly. What is most striking is that Jesus knew it was coming. He knew who would turn on Him. And still—He loved.
For many of us, love has come with wounds. We have opened our hearts and been disappointed, misunderstood, or broken by others. Those experiences can make love feel dangerous. And yet God’s love is profoundly different.
God’s love cannot be earned—and because it cannot be earned, it also cannot be lost. It does not depend on our performance, our consistency, or our perfection. God is faithful. He is trustworthy. He is a safe place to bring your heart in surrender.
As we learned from Romans 8…nothing can separate us from God’s love.
Advent reminds us that Love came near—not guarded, not armored, but open. God placed His heart into human hands. That is how deeply He loves.
And this love does not end with us. Jesus invites us to share His own calling—to be the light of the world. To love others as we have been loved. It is risky. It always has been. But it is the way of Christ.
Love will always ask something of us. But it will also always reveal God’s light.
Spend a few moments letting your guard down. Gently take down the walls that you’ve purposely or inadvertently built around your heart. Open yourself up to God’s love once more.
Where have past wounds made you hesitant to fully receive love?
Which statement about love feels more real to you today?
I am scared to open myself up to being hurt. Or… I feel unworthy to receive genuine love.
Spend a few moments allowing God to unravel these lies and fill you with the truth of his love. Can you imagine God’s love as a safe place—steady, faithful, unearned?
Now spend a few moments asking God whom he might be calling you to love today. Allow the Holy Spirit to bring to your mind someone who could use a little warmth, tenderness, and an outpouring of God’s love.
If someone came to your heart, spend a few moments praying for them. Then ask God how he might want to use you to be a light to this person.