I am no longer my own, but thine ...

...Christ has many services to be done. Some are easy, others are difficult. Some bring honour, others bring reproach. Some are suitable to our natural inclinations and temporal interests, others are contrary to both... Yet the power to do all these things is given to us in Christ, who strengthens us.

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

thou art mine, and I am thine.

So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen.

I was reminded of this prayer by my sweet friend, Kate.  Her heart burns hot for disabled orphans in Africa, and yet she is fixing her eyes of Jesus and looking to him to direct her heart and her footsteps.   She is declaring that she is Christ's and available for him to use as he will.

The prayer originated in 1633 with a Puritan pastor.  His writing was condemned by the Archbishop of Canterbury and all copies were to be rubbed with an inky brush and sent to the kitchen fire.  Many survived, however, and one ended up in the hands of John Wesley.  So moved was he by the words of this Vindiciae Pietatis, A Vindication of Godliness, that he personally committed to them and included them in a yearly New Year's Eve Covenant Renewal Service.

All things ...

my marriage

my mothering

my ministry

for your pleasure

and your disposal.

For your pleasure and your disposal ....  I want to trust the Lord this much.  I don't want him to have to pry my fingers open.  Today I'm asking him to help me to freely and heartily yield all things for his glory.

Are there areas of surrender in your own life?  Ambitions, hopes, plans?  Maybe you've surrendered some, but you suspect there's more.   Share a comment and I'll pray with you and for you as you join me in saying ...

I am no longer my own, but thine.