“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged for the Lord your
God is with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9Do you sometimes doubt yourself and abilities or sometimes feel like you’re not exactly sure how to go about pursuing life, your dreams, and those things that bring you joy and happiness? And then how do you couple aligning those pursuits with bringing glory to the Most High God, who is the One that blessed you with the gifts in the first place? Well, perhaps the words which were penned back in 1874 by the English religious poet and hymn-writer, Frances Ridley Havergal, will shed some light on how to structure your prayer of consecration and essentially ask Father God to transform your life and make it fulfilling and abundant as He desires.
She wrote:
“Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
“Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
“Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.
“Take my silver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose,
Every power as Thou shalt choose.
“Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart; it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
“Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.”
Those are extremely powerful words, and I think it’s time to stop convincing yourself that you’re not competent enough or gifted enough or good enough to do something that our Heavenly Father has equipped you to do to honor Him in the earth.
Remember the wise counsel of the Apostle Paul: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. As you seek to surrender your will and give yourself an opportunity to be used, also keep in mind the encouraging words of 2 Corinthians 12:9, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” May all that we have, and all that we are, and all that we do, glorify our Lord and Savior.”
“Don’t worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:6&7 (NLT)
Heavenly Father:
Please help us to know that with Your help, we can accomplish things that our minds can’t even begin to comprehend. Reassure us that because You have blessed us with particular gifts and talents, You will also provide us with the right avenues through which we can expend our blessings to others for Your purpose and for Your glory! Please remove all fear of judgment, unworthiness, and failure from our hearts so that we can begin to see ourselves as You really see us, and then launch out into the ‘unknown’ by a simple act of faith. Consecrate us anew today, we pray. Amen!
Written By:
Shauna (Menns) Reid
