Our devotion to God is strengthened when we offer Him a fresh commitment each day. Every morning, in a simple, genuine prayer, start fresh with God by giving Him all that you are, all that you have: now, forever, and daily. Lay everything on God’s altar in what one saint of old called the “surrendered life.”
Give God Your Life
Give God your life, your imperfect body, your health-or lack of it, your husband, each child, your home, your possessions. Nurture the habit of placing these blessings in God’s loving hands to do with them what He will. This habit reminds us that these blessings are not ours to begin with—they are His! A daily prayer of commitment helps us to release what we think are our rights to these gifts. As the saying goes, “Hold all things lightly and nothing tightly.”
I find these words from nineteenth-century devotional writer Andrew Murray helpful: “God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.” Aim at some kind of daily commitment to God. It can be as simple as this prayer, the first of F.B. Meyer’s seven rules for living: “Make a daily, definite, audible consecration of yourself to God. Say it out loud: ‘Lord, today I give myself anew to you.’”
The prayer of commitment I love best, and have written on the front page of my Bible, is that of Betty Scott Stam, a China Inland Mission worker. She and her husband were eventually led through the streets of China to their execution by decapitation, while their baby lay behind in its crib. This was her daily prayer:
Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my time, my all, utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.
In this case, the cost was high. This total commitment to God cost Betty Stam her ministry, her husband, her child, her life. But that kind of commitment is indeed our high calling as His children (Romans 8:17).
Giving Our All to Christ
I pray that your heart belongs to Christ, that you have entered into an eternal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus. If this is true for you, thank Him for the wonderful privilege of being called a child of God!
However, if you are unsure about where you stand with God or if you know quite clearly you are living your life apart from God, purpose to make things right with Him. Spend time in prayer. Confess and deal with any sin. Invite Jesus to be your Savior, and by doing so, welcome Christ into your life and become a new creature in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17).
RESPOND:
God, I want to be a woman after Your heart—a woman who lives her life in You, through You, and for You. Amen.
RENEWING RESOURCES:
A Woman After God’s Own Heart—Elizabeth George shares God’s Word and woman-to-woman practical wisdom on how you can pursue God’s priorities for your home and family.
REFLECT:
Turn your heart heavenward. Open up your heart. Invite Christ in and put yourself in a position where God can grow in you a heart of devotion.
REMEMBER:
Remembering God’s faithfulness to Christians who have gone before you, commit your life into His loving hands. His calling and faithfulness are sure and will guide you always.