Surrender · “Let Go to Receive”
Prayerize
Pray informally and conversationally to God throughout the day, lead with thanks not requests, and consciously hand each problem over (‘drop it in God’s hands’) to release worry.
Start with a silent minute thinking of God.
- Talk plainly to God all day, anywhere.
- Give thanks more than you ask.
- Keep prayer positive; accept God’s will.
- Drop each problem in God’s hands — and leave it there.
- Then picturize and actualize.
What it is
The first and grounding step of Peale’s “Prayerize, Picturize, Actualize“ formula, and his whole approach to prayer in “Try Prayer Power.” To prayerize is to make prayer constant, informal and conversational — talking to God “in simple, natural words” as a close associate throughout the ordinary day — and, decisively, to hand each problem over rather than keep gripping it.
Among the surrender practices here, Peale’s version is the plain, anti-formal, give-thanks-first style aimed at the lay churchgoer: less liturgy, more talking-to-God-on-the-bus, with release as the felt result.
The Method
Peale’s ten rules of prayer, condensed to the practice:
- Begin in silence. “Set aside a few minutes every day. Do not say anything. Simply practice thinking about God.”
- Pray in plain words. “Pray orally, using simple, natural words — telling God anything that is on your mind.”
- Pray as you go. “Pray as you go about the business of the day, on the subway or bus or at your desk.” Prayer is continuous, not confined to a kneeler.
- Lead with thanks, not requests. “Do not always ask when you pray, but instead affirm that God’s blessings are being given, and spend most of your prayers giving thanks.”
- Only positive thoughts in prayer. “Never use a negative thought in prayer. Only positive thoughts get results.”
- Surrender the outcome. “Always express willingness to accept God’s will. be willing to take what God gives you.”
- Drop it in God’s hands. “Practice the attitude of putting everything in God’s hands.” This is the release move — the worry is handed over and let go.
- Pray for others, including people you dislike; keep a list. Then chain it: prayerize (this) → picturize (see it done) → actualize (act). (Sourcing note: the quoted rules are Peale’s, short fair-use quotation from “Try Prayer Power”.)
Source & Lineage
The Power of Positive Thinking (1952), chapter “Try Prayer Power.” Peale democratizes prayer — stripping it of formality and reframing it as a casual, grateful, all-day conversation that ends in surrender. The “drop it in God’s hands” release echoes the New Thought “casting the burden” of Florence Scovel Shinn, in a mainstream Protestant key.
Common refinements
All asking, no thanks. Peale flips the ratio: mostly gratitude and affirmation. Begging keeps you in lack.
- Handing over but not letting go. “Drop it in God’s hands” only works if you actually stop re-gripping it the next minute; notice the take-back and release again.
- Surrender as passivity. Peale couples it with action (actualize). Pray, release, then move.
- Formality. Don’t perform; talk plainly, even mid-task.