For a few years now (if I had to give a number it would be nine), I have actively been asking Jesus to be Lord of my life. This is a frequent prayer, one I assume you have also prayed.

The next time you go to church or listen to a worship song, listen closely… You will most likely hear a similar sentence, inviting you (the listener) to make Jesus the Lord of your life.

But what does this actually mean? “Jesus, the Lord of my life?”

Does it mean that, after asking Him to be Lord, He is Lord, and we therefore are saved? 

The simple answer would be to say “yes… and no”.

“Yes”, because acknowledging Jesus –His authority and His Lordship over our lives– does save us. This sentence is often attached to “the sinner’s prayer” at the end of a sermon in a church service. But now also comes the “no”…

You see, if we ask Jesus to be Lord over our lives – we are issuing an open invitation (which He is always going to take us up on). This means that Jesus will come and He will reign as Lord in our lives. He will start to speak, convict, guide and lead us through the Holy Spirit. The only thing is – we have to be willing to listen to what He has to say when He does start reigning in our lives. This is where the “no” comes in. 

This faith of ours is not only a confessing faith – but it is also built off actions. The book of James explains how faith without works is dead (James 2:17). The author writes about how our faith and our works both reveal our belief in God and our obedience to Him. Asking is one thing – living in accordance to what we have asked is another – just like claiming we are Christians is one thing, but living out a sacrificial Christian life is another. So if we ask Jesus to be the Lord of our lives, but we do not live as though He has every right to speak, to rebuke, to challenge, to tell us to wait – then He really is not Lord in our life.

I recently faced a situation like this. I woke up with my head filled with worries and other things I had to do, and in prayer asked Jesus to be the Lord of my life. All I wanted to do was to take the day off to go to a museum and eat a delicious pastry. I mused, looking at the sky, “that would be so nice, right Jesus? Can I go and just enjoy myself?”. I heard no response to my question. There I sat, inquiring of the Holy Spirit, until a thought crossed my mind: I am clearly not able to make a mature decision about my day today. I know I have a calling, I know I am currently working on something important… and I know the chaos of emotions in my mind does not make me a trusted decision maker for my day. So I exhaled, grabbed a paper and pen, and asked the Lord: what do you want me to do today?

The answer the Lord gave me was unexpected. In fact, I did not really understand the purpose of it. Nevertheless, I wrote down everything I heard Him say, said a prayer, and got to work.

I wish I could say I went throughout my day, and the Lord appeared in a mighty way – or simply that the work He asked me to complete ended up being fun or led to some kind of breakthrough.

It did not (at least not what I can see with my human eyes – let’s maybe not lay too much value on my opinion). I was emotional throughout the day, frustrated at times for not comprehending why I was doing what He asked me to do and what it would lead to.

But at the end of the day, as I recounted everything I had done, I realized that I had lived a day fully obedient to what He had asked me to do, and that this reflected Him being the Lord of my life.

There have been plenty of days where I have made my own decisions (God trusts us to live) and have failed in some ways in allowing Jesus to be Lord in my life. But today was different. Today, I actively invited Him into the details of my day and obeyed what He asked me to do, despite me having told Him what I wanted and not really liking what He asked me to do. At some point, our yes to God is going to lead us to make hard decisions and to do things we simply do not want to do. Deciding to do these despite our dislike shows that Jesus really is Lord of our lives.

I want to invite you to reflect on these questions today:

1. Have I made Jesus the Lord of my Life?
2. Do I actively invite Jesus into the details of my day?
3. Does my day reflect that He is Lord?

If your answer is “no” to the first question, I would like to lead you in the sinner’s prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I confess that I have sinned. I ask that you would come into my life – that you would wash me clean – and that you would come to be my Lord and Savior. I want to follow you for the rest of my life. I believe you can make me clean. Thank you for saving me. Amen.”

We rejoice with you, my friend! And so do the angels in heaven! (Luke 15:10)

To those of us who cannot answer the second question with a “yes”: take this as a personal challenge and start the day off with this prayer:

“Jesus, I want you to be Lord of my life. Speak to me. Show me the right path. Let my life reflect that I love you. Come, Holy Spirit, and help me live this wonderful life in accordance with you. Amen.”

The Holy Spirit strengthens us to live in such a way that pleases God (Romans 8:26). Asking for help from the life source itself can only strengthen you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Let us all let our words and our actions have weight – and live as though He is Lord.

“Maybe”, “at times”, or “no” are possible answers to the third question. We will make mistakes. We will sometimes act out of our own will, but a question like this asked at the end of the day can really reframe how our entire day has gone. Take my recent day as an example. Though I was exhausted and did not enjoy what the Lord asked me to do, I was able to look at all I had done at the end of the day and know I chose obedience, and that this reflected Jesus being Lord of my life. It gave me strength. It gave me hope. And it also made me feel closer to God, because I was obedient to Him and therefore was able to show Him I love Him – not just in words, but in actions.

Here’s a prayer to pray for the third question: “God, show me how I can live in accordance with your will more. Help me inquire more from you and hear your voice more. You matter most in my life. I want to end my days knowing, regardless of what I did, that I did it before you and with your blessing. Guide and lead me today and tomorrow. Amen.”

Regardless of the ways in which we were or were not able to answer the questions, the message is simple: letting Jesus be the Lord of our lives requires asking for it and living it out. Let us do exactly this, dear friends. And let us “press on towards the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus that we have received” (Philippians 3:14). Amen!

May the Lord bless you and keep you!