Take My Life, That I May Be, ELW 685 and LBW 406
1 Take my life, that I may be
consecrated, Lord, to thee;
take my moments and my days;
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
2 Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of they love;
take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee.
3 Take my voice and let me sing
always, only, for my King;
take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from thee.
4 Take my silver and my gold,
not a mite would I withhold;
take my intellect, and use
ev'ry pow'r as thou shalt choose.
5 Take my will and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.
6 Take my love; my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure store;
take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.
Devotion
In my ministry among Muslim people, I have tried to stimulate reflection and invite openness by suggesting that I was a "Christian muslim." That is, the likes of me might be understood as a “small ‘m’ muslim" in the sense of the literal meaning of the word, "one who is surrendered" to God. But this surrender must be understood as Christian surrender: not the obedience of the sinner to do good in the face of the law, but the astonishment of the new Adam to be discovered justified through the cross of Christ.
"Take My Life, That I May Be" expresses this "Christian surrender." Insofar as one is made new by the gospel, one yearns to find one's life at the Lord’s disposal: moments and days, hands and feet, voice and lips, money and intellect, will and heart – the whole works! 100 percent! Now, no longer serving us or our salvation but rather, by God's freeing Spirit, serving our Lord and his world.
Prayer
Lord, take my life and put it to work for those you love. In your name, Amen.