On New Year’s Day, I like to pray John Wesley’s Covenant prayer:


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 for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for 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.
And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

(Book of Offices of the British Methodist Church, 1936).

This prayer has traditionally used by Methodists (which is the tradition in which I was raised) to renew their covenant with God at the beginning of a new year.

It is not a prayer to be prayed lightly. It is a prayer of complete surrender, and I find I need to say it slowly, thinking through what I am really saying with each clause.

I quite like praying it in its original language, with its thees and thous. Growing up, I thought that thee was a special word used to talk to God, as that was the only context in which I heard it used. Saying thee to God made him further away, and harder to talk to. But thee is actually the most intimate form or address. In older English thee was the informal version of you, just like du in German or tu in French. It is the way you address your mother, your lover or your dearest friend, not the way you address a judge or a ruler. Saying this prayer, with its thees and thous and thines, reminds me that when I pray this prayer, I am entrusting myself to the one who knows and loves me best, with whom I need have no camouflage. When I say to him: thou art mine and I am thine; I am acknowledging an unbelievable intimacy between us, a knowing and being known, which makes the surrender of the rest of the prayer possible. There is also something special about saying words that have been said by so many people over the years.

However, if you find the old language jarring, here is a modern version;

I am no longer my own by yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you, exalted for you or brought low for you. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant now made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.
Discipleship Ministries | The Wesley Covenant Prayer: An Affirmation… (umcdiscipleship.org)

If you are a Christ follower, I encourage you to join me in praying this prayer. It is, after all, only spelling out what it means when we say that Jesus is our Lord.

For me, praying this prayer of surrender as I face the unknowns of a new year gives a deep sense of peace, as I acknowledge the reality that my life is in God’s hands, and that he can be trusted with it.

 

Hi, I'm Chris!

I'm an Australian Christian author, blogger and speaker who has published one book - Diamonds from the King - which is a book of stories from my life of ways that God has worked to bring precious diamonds from suffering, disappointment and confusion.

I'm a mum, granny and wife and I love spending time with my grown kids and my four and counting grandkids, but my greatest passion is to get to know God better, and to share his wonder with the world.