Feb 27 2019 Prayer of Self Dedication

Almighty and eternal God,
so draw our hearts to you,
so guide our minds,
so fill our imaginations,
so control our wills,
that we may be wholly yours,
utterly dedicated unto you;
and then use us, we pray you, as you will,
and always to your glory and the welfare of your people;
through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

In addition to daily psalms and scripture, Morning Prayer also includes prayers that you can select to pray as the spirit moves you. This is one of my favorites.

The four lines beginning with “so” speak to me.

So draw our hearts to you. God wants my heart. I want God to have my heart. I just have to remember that, all the time.

So guide our minds. From this, I get a sense that even though I spend a lot of time in my head, if I ask, God can guide that head. So often, I feel that my mind and my thoughts are antithetical to God’s will. It’s me thinking what I should do, what I know, what I believe. It feels very internal and self-focused. When I say out loud, “So guide our minds”, I’m reminded that if I choose to, my mind can be more like the cars at Disneyland, where there’s some freedom of steering, but there’s a central course and my car will bounce back on course if I get too far afield. I just have to remember.

So fill our imaginations. I spend so much time in my head, I often think I don’t have much imagination. I don’t say this to solicit consolation or feedback, but to admit I spend a lot of time in my left brain. This petition reminds me that while I might not have an elaborate imagination, it’s not all up to me. Again, if I remember to ask, God will happily fill my imagination.

So control our wills. Yes, I have a will, and yes, God will let me have free will. But I don’t believe I have a better plan or execution of that plan than God’s will for me. At one time, I saw this prayer as limiting. I’m turning my will to God? Letting someone else control my “free will”?  But now, it feels incredibly freeing. I don’t always see what’s the right path; I don’t always take the right action. But if I remain connected, remember that God has a great plan, and be willing to turn over my will to God, things turn out so much better than if I do it on my own. Or under the illusion that I’m doing it on my own.

After turning over my heart, my mind, my imagination and my will, I pray that God will use me as God wills, always for the welfare of God’s people. 

Some argue that prescribed written prayers stymie and constrain our connection with God. This prayer is one of the best antidotes to that argument for me. Every time I pray it, I am filled with this freeing, expansive sense of love of God and purpose for me. It’s a point by point reminder of how, left to my own devices, I self-limit and self-stymie my relationship with God.