Absolute Surrender (For Teens)

A South African pastor and writer, born in 1828 in Graaff-Reinet. He studied in Scotland and the Netherlands, was ordained on his twentieth birthday, rode huge distances to serve scattered farms, saw a revival in Worcester in 1860, and wrote more than 240 books, mostly about prayer and living close to Christ. He died in 1917.

Giving your whole self to God, with nothing held back: your plans, your time, your relationships, your words and your future. Murray’s key point is that God does not ask you to do this in your own strength. He works the willingness in you, accepts your trembling yes, keeps you in it, and blesses you through it.

No. Absolute surrender is to God alone. No pastor, youth leader, friend, boyfriend or girlfriend has the right to demand that kind of control over you. If someone is using God’s name to pressure or control you, tell a trusted adult. Surrender to God makes you freer, not trapped.

That is very common, and Murray talks about it directly. He says the problem is usually that we think keeping going depends on us. God not only accepts our surrender but keeps us in it, moment by moment, as we trust him, stay honest with him, and stay close to his word.

No. Murray says it is for every child of God, including those who are scared, unsure or just starting out. He tells people to come just as they are, even trembling, and to pray: “My God, I am willing that Thou shouldst make me willing.” God does the work of making us able.

No. It is a retelling for teenagers in plain modern words, drawn from all nine of Murray’s talks and keeping his own sentences where they say it best. The full Absolute Surrender is also available.