Rehearsing the Covenant
October 1, 2001
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 by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low by 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. Amen.
Some have found in the prayer of Jabez a foundation upon which to build their lives. For me and for our church family, it is one of John Wesley's prayers that has shaped us—heart and soul. This prayer, taught by the founder of Methodism to his preaching students, is often called the "Wesleyan Covenant." I believe God's amazing work in our church, the blessings he has provided and our unity and passion, is in large part a result of this prayer. Wesley's prayer has informed my own personal prayer life. For me it is the essence of what it means to be a Christian—to be surrendered to Christ. It is my morning prayer every day. It has also shaped my understanding of what it means to pursue Christ's will as a church. Eleven years ago I was assigned to start a new United Methodist Church in the southern suburbs of Kansas City. The night before our first worship service, we gathered our small core group together at the site of our borrowed chapel and prayed, "Lord, this church belongs to you. It is not ours. Our desire is to do what you want us to do and to be what you want us to be. You know the people you long to reach through this church. We place ourselves in your hands and long to be used by you." Our work has been guided by the fundamental biblical ...
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