Until It Is Real In Me...

For my devotions I have been reading Thomas à Kempis' Imitation of Christ; this little book contains a wealth of wisdom, insight, and spiritual guidance. It has challenged me and left me in deep thought; after reading a passage I often sit in silence and reflect on my Christian pilgrimage, wondering if I am giving my all for God's kingdom. If you have read it then you know what I mean, it shames you and urges you on at the same time. The other day I came across a prayer while reading, here it is:

Prayer of Surrender to God

by Thomas à Kempis

Lord, You know what is best; let this be done or that be done as You
please. Give what You will, as much as You will, when You will. Do with me as You know best, as will most please You, and will be for Your greater honor. Place me where You will and deal with me freely in all things. I am in Your hand; turn me about whichever way You will. Behold, I am Your servant, ready to obey in all things. Not for myself do I desire to live, but for You - would that I could do this worthily and perfectly!

(From THE IMITATION OF CHRIST, Bk 3, chapter 15)

This prayer is easy to repeat, but hard to embody. Surrender is regarded as losing, it's regarded as weak and beggarly, and definitely Un-American. And yet that is exactly what Jesus requires of those that wish to be his disciples. Think about it, are you "ready to obey in all things," or how about allowing God to do with you as he see's best? I think the majority of us will answer "no." I often ask the youth at the church I am serving what they would have said if at their conversion God said, "I will show you how much you must suffer for my name," as he said of Paul in Acts 9:16. Who wants to sign up for that? Maybe that's why "surrender" is scarcely taught on Sunday mornings, because it means giving up control. So instead we preach a bunch of "easy believism," saying to potential converts, "just repeat after me..." It's not the same, is it?

This prayer shames me on a personal level because it seems so far from reality to me. It almost makes one say, "that's for people in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd-17th century, but not for us." "This is for the St. Francis' and Wesley's and Mother Teresa's of the world, but not for 21st century Americans!" I suggest we need to re-visit the requirements for discipleship and compare it to what our requirements are in 21st century America.

I have made this prayer a part of my everyday devotion, and I am going to pray it until it is real in me. I think the more you surrender to God the more you will see a need for surrender; so I'll probably be praying it for the rest of my life, but that is a good thing.

I pray that this prayer stops you in your tracks like it stopped me. I also hope that you might join me, not only in praying, but also in surrendering to God and being used in whatever way God wants to use you.

Peace and Goodness,

Meshach