The aspiration of any true follower of Jesus Christ is to be like Him. The engagement with Him is a full-time endeavor to know Him and His will through prayer, fasting, and studying His word that we might have the mind of Christ and be fit in the full armor of God.

We are to take every thought captive; each one is to be judged according to the word of God to know the manner of the spirit it is—that action may be taken accordingly—so that by any means we might attain unto perfection and the resurrection of Christ.

The Apostle Paul confessed he had not yet attained the resurrection of the dead, nor was he already perfect. He declared himself in pursuit of perfection and that he was willing to suffer the loss of all things to win Christ. Let us also press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God by submitting ourselves to Jesus Christ and surrendering our lives to Him as He did to the will of the Father.

Christ came to defeat death and hell by surrendering. First, He surrendered his will to the Father, then He gave His body into the hands of wicked men to be abused and crucified. His prayer to His Father was always, “Thy will be done.” When Jesus was taken prisoner, he proclaimed that if he called on the Father, his Father would send more than 12 legions of angels to deliver him, but then how would the scriptures be fulfilled?

He said beforehand in regard to his life, “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself,” And to Pontius Pilate, He declared, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world.”

To the contrary, Satan never surrenders his will; his will is only defeated when a stronger force prevails against him. Likewise, his children seek victory through strength by destroying their enemies.

Nonetheless, it is the will of God that heaven’s victories come through surrendering. Even before the birth of Christ and His death on the cross, God surrendered. When Abraham showed his willingness to offer his son, the Lord prevented him from doing so: He promised Abraham that He would surrender His Son for the sacrifice.

Also, when Jacob wrestled all night with God and was pushed to the brink, God chose to surrender and blessed him, changing his name to Israel—often interpreted as “he who struggles with, or wrestles with God.”

It is the will of God that when we earnestly contend for the faith, the Lord surrenders by granting our requests and blessing us. Jesus spoke in parables, saying we should pray always and never faint; it is the Father’s will to give us the kingdom.

Therefore, we contend for the faith, the gifts of the spirit, and all things we have a need of; it pleases God that we should refuse to be denied. He desires to surrender to our request and grant us the victory.

Jesus emphasized persistence—in the parables of the unjust judge and the man who sought bread from his friend in the middle of the night—reminding us that even sinners give good things to their children. How much more will God—who surrendered His Son to be crucified on the cross—willingly grant our requests?

Surrender to the will of God; obey His voice. Keep His commandments and wrestle with Him. Though the night may linger, the morning will break. It is His will that through persistence and perseverance, in due time, He will surrender and grant our requests according to His power and glory. “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).