A prayer from my book Heart to Heart, focusing on God’s call to follow Jesus and whether we are willing to offer an unreserved response.
An unreserved response
Read
Peter said to Jesus, ‘Why can’t I follow you now, Lord? I’m ready to lay down my life for you!’ ‘Really?’ answered Jesus. ‘Is that what you think? Let me tell you this – before you hear the cock crowing you will have denied me three times.’ John 13:37-38
Introduction
‘Tis not the dying for a faith that’s difficult,’ said William Makepeace Thackeray, ‘tis the living up to it’, and how true that is. Professing undying allegiance sounds good but doesn’t actually amount to much if our words fail to back up our actions. Such was the case with Simon Peter, his bluster and bravado soon to be exposed when the chips were down. The problem, of course, was that Jesus proved to be a very different Messiah than Peter anticipated, albeit, of course, a far greater one. Just as we tend to, Peter wanted Jesus to fit in with his expectations, conform to his wishes, fulfil his dreams and realise his hopes. All that is perfectly understandable, but it amounts to putting ourselves into the place of God rather than giving him the place he deserves. True commitment means allowing him to work in whatever ways he wishes, putting him first and ourselves second. How far does such total trust and obedience characterise your response?
Pray
Living God,
I thought I’d responded,
that I’d professed my faith
and offered my commitment,
but I hadn’t,
not fully,
not as you wanted me to.
I’d offered a part of me,
but the rest was still firmly mine,
ring-fenced,
not to be disturbed,
kept quietly away from any challenge you might bring.
I was ready to serve,
as long as your goals were mine;
ready to follow,
as long as our paths coincided;
but the thought of loving proving costly,
discipleship bringing demands . . .
well, quite simply I pushed it aside,
hoping that what I couldn’t see I could safely ignore.
Only I couldn’t,
for instead of having a foot in both camps,
I didn’t have one in either,
life lived neither fully for me nor fully for you.
Forgive me, Lord,
and teach me to consecrate myself
wholly to your service:
to be used as you would use me,
to serve as you would have me serve,
confident that,
though I may not have the resources needed,
your strength will see me through.
In the name of Christ I ask it.
Amen.