Ever have a cooperate reading at church that causes you to stop in the middle and question whether you should be reading the prayer aloud? The words are so intense that you can’t say them flippantly, Saying the reading silently, let alone aloud, requires some deep commitment.
That is how I felt when we read the following prayer as a congregation.
Lord, I give myself to You, whatever the cost may be. Take every aspect of my life and use me to glorify Your name. I’m not here on earth to do my own thing, to seek my own fulfillment or my own glory. I’m not here to indulge my desires, to increase my possessions, to impress people, to be popular, to prove I’m somebody important, or to promote myself. I’m not here even to be relevant or successful by human standards. I’m here to please You and to bear fruit that reflects Your presence in my life.
The desire of my heart is to discover what it means to delight in You. I want to have my heart and mind entranced and captivated by the superlative beauty and sweetness of who You are. I understand that delighting in You alone will dislodge sin from my heart. So help me to learn more fully how to enjoy You, love You, worship You and serve You.
I’ll do anything that You want me to do, go anywhere that You want me to go and say anything that You want me to say. Father, there isn’t any gift that You have for me that I don’t want. If You want me to move out of my comfort zone, I’ll follow You. If You want to use me in a way that I’m not used to, I yield myself to that.
Today I re-dedicate myself to You. I love You, my God, and I choose to live and minister in Your way. I trust You, Lord, to do that which I cannot do myself. Teach me, guide me, empower me, fill me with Your Spirit and reveal Yourself through me. May the fruit of my life demonstrate to others the difference You are making in my life and cause them to want to know You.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Wow!
For 2014, my focus word was love. God taught me so much about loving Him. Loving myself how He created me. And loving others…even those who don’t return my love in the way I desire. God is no where done with teaching me to love as He loves. But, I am very thankful for the journey we are on together.
I don’t know what 2015 will bring but my desire for the year is to learn to delight in the Lord. I want “my heart and mind to be entrances and captivated” by the beauty and sweetness of who God is.
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I am unable to find the original source of this prayer. From what I can find it is similar to a pray by Ruth Myers in her book Thirty-One Days of Praise: Enjoying God Anew (31 Days Series)
Thanks for sharing this prayer, Heidi! I love it! I do think you're right that it's the kind of thing we need to read and think about before flippantly praying it aloud. It might be good for worship leaders to give congregations time to do this in silence before asking them to read it aloud together. Happy New Year (a few days early)!
Thank you for sharing this! This echoes my heart lately and I am sharing this with my husband.