Jenny was troubled by worries about her teenage children not doing well in school. The Covid-19 situation and the two years of perpetual lock-down had taken the enthusiasm for learning away from these growing youngsters. No matter, how she nagged, scolded, and even threatened, nothing changed. She prayed to God but even those prayers were so stressful. She was pleading and her voice of despair seemed to rise no further than her ceiling.
One day, she watched one of my YouTube teaching videos on Handing-Over Prayer. According to Jenny, she followed every step carefully. It took some effort to really believe that Jesus was actually interested in what she had handed over. As she faithfully handed over every thought of concern to the Lord, her body became relaxed with the sweet assurance of God’s presence. And the best part was that she began to see some changes in her children. Her kids actually performed well in their recent class tests. Jenny was elated. She decided to hand over her relational struggles with one of her sisters. And a miracle happened – that sister called her to reconcile. She then handed a difficult client to the Lord through Handing-Over Prayer. I believe you can guess the outcome – the client decided to buy the full range of health products that she had proposed.
Today, Jenny no longer finds prayer stressful. It’s no longer a duty or religious requirement. She mused, “For the first time, I am really enjoying praying.” She said that she loves using this Handing-Over Prayer because she wants to see how God answers her prayers.
What Is Handing-Over Prayer?
You must have read what Jesus said about coming to Him and He will give us rest (Matthew 11:28). Handing-Over Prayer is the process of going to Jesus with every one of our concerns, handing them over and then just resting in Him. One of the biggest struggles that we have when we pray is always the inundation of stray thoughts. We want to focus on Jesus but our minds are refusing to cooperate. And thus, praying becomes a chore. We are always fighting to keep stray thoughts at bay so as to stay focused on the Lord. However, the brain is designed to think. These stray thoughts are like a whole troop of monkeys jumping in randomly into your mind. And that is the reason why many fail in praying is because of this phenomenon.
Accepting All The Monkeys
In Handing-Over Prayer, you will never need to worry about the “monkeys” or stray thoughts. In fact, you learn to accept all stray thoughts and side issues as they rush into your mind. Yes, you have not read wrong – learn to accept all these thoughts. Whether they be good, negative, angry, hateful, lustful, or holy, welcome them.
As Handing-Over Prayer is not violent, you do not need to fight these “monkeys” or treat them as unwelcomed interruptions. As they come into your mind, recognize that they are there in your mind, and identify them. Then gently isolate them for the handing over to Jesus.
Do not ruminate upon them but just hand them over to Jesus. Your mind is not a warehouse for all these stray thoughts. In this instance, you should treat your mind as a clear channel or a transfer station. This means that nothing stays in you and everything flows through you to Jesus.
Do Not Feel Guilty
Anything may come to your mind. It may be thoughts of anxiety or joy. However, as long as they are going to distract your time with the Lord, you just acknowledge and identify them. Take time to gently hand over all your “monkeys”. Do not feel guilty if what comes to your mind are lustful thoughts or even evil thoughts. They are temptations and temptation is not sin. Acting upon the temptation is. There is no condemnation, stress, or demand on your part. Just come confidently before Jesus, hand over and let the Lord take care of all your thoughts and struggles.
As you hand over to Jesus, say this simple prayer: “This thought I hand over to you” or “this thought I surrender to you”. If the thought comes back many times, simply hand it over again and again. Do not resist it – just receive, identify, isolate and hand it over to God.
Where Can You Do The Handing-Over Prayer?
You can do the Handing-Over Prayer almost anywhere. Many believers do it while driving to and from work. Some told me that when they were stuck in traffic jams, instead of getting upset, they took the opportunity to do the Handing-Over Prayer. Many homemakers followed my advice to do it during their daily house-cleaning session. Others do it during their gardening. One creative account was doing the Handing-Over Prayer while showering. There is no limit of creative ways that you can use this prayer approach. It will be ideal if you can find a regular time in the day to do this Handing-Over Prayer. For example, in the morning, just before or after your devotion. The Lord encourages us to pray alone in a private place – “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6).
A 24/7 Prayer
This is indeed an ideal 24/7 approach to prayer and you can actually do what the Bible speaks about “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Praying all the time may be something new to you. Like all habits, it has to be practiced regularly until it becomes a part of your daily activities. I pray that you will enjoy handing over all your struggles and disturbing thoughts to the Lord and just rest in His presence.
Here are some helpful videos about Handing-Over Prayer.
Albert Connect 