Several participants in the "Bringing It Back Home" workshop track during the Spiritual Formation Forum in May requested a copy of the Prayer of Surrender I shared.
As I mentioned then, it was given to me as a wedding shower gift when I was twenty-one years old. It so deeply moved and challenged me that it has retained a prominent place in whatever home or office I've occupied in the many states, many "jobs", many ministry roles, and many (many!) years since then.
I am happy to share it with others... our workshop seemed particularly moved by it. If anyone knows the exact source, please let me know. It may have been Amy Carmichael, but I haven't been able to confirm this.
And to the friend who shared it as a gift so long ago... thank you for helping shape my prayers for a lifetime.
Next to the laptop here on my desk, it rests in a small oval wooden frame--maybe five inches high by three inches wide. As seems oddly fitting, over the years, the print is barely visible but for the all-caps JESUS at the top which stands out in contrast more and more every day. I try to pray through it as often as it catches my eye... sometimes I can barely choke out the words, but they always have that quiet ping of truth as they call out the woman I most wish to be.
Men, you'll need to adapt for gender... I will leave the blank at the end for you to fill in with your own name. Mine ends with,
"take my human flaws and failures and use them to remind those who know me that only you are God and i will always just be Mindy."
Perhaps you might take this moment to offer it as your prayer as well...
JESUS,
i am a humble, lowly
servant woman. take
me… all of me. add any-
thing, take anything away.
at any cost. with any price.
make me yours completely… wholly.
may I not be remembered for the
way i wear my hair, or the shape of
my face, or the people i know or
the crowds i’ve addressed. May i
be known for loving You… for carrying
a dream… for building bridges to
the hurt and broken and lost in the
world. Make me what You would be if
you lived in person where i do. May
everything accomplished through my
simple life bring honor and glory to
You. take my human flaws and
failures and use them to remind
those who know me that only
You are God and i will
always just be _______.
amen
&
amen