Wesley's Prayer 2

The second line of John Wesley's prayer reads, "Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt."

We were born with free will. Our inborn tendency is to seek to fulfill our own will, and the classic theological understanding of original sin is our predisposition to disobey God. This line of the prayer means we seek God's will for our lives. Woody Allen is credited with saying, "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." In other words, we, with humble and obedient hearts, should seek to discover the will of God instead of trying to present and possess our own. Jesus' prayer said, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven," meaning Jesus sought as we should, that which is pleasing to God.

The second part of that line is difficult for those who seek high position in all things, motivating themselves to success and win over others, no matter the setting. There is nothing wrong with leadership as long as it is with a humble heart and gentle spirit. An attitude of servitude helps a leader be the kind who listens, understands, and seeks to move the group or organization forward towards the common goals or in our case, the will of God. Jesus also said, "The first shall be last," in the parable of the laborers. And in Luke 14, Jesus also spoke of sitting in the place of least honor for it may be the host will invite you to move up to the place of more honor.

PRAYER: Loving God, I am no longer my own, but thine, Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt, for I seek to be Yours and I seek to serve with a humble heart in all things. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Wesley's Prayer

The dust may have not yet settled from our time in Tampa, but we still pray for the people called United Methodists from around the world. I thought it might be beneficial for us to pray Wesley's Covenant Prayer for our own wellbeing, starting with a line a day.

The first line reads, "I am no longer my own, but thine."

No better posture in prayer than acknowledging Whose we are. The Christian has suffered their life to God and we should never forget this. Too many of our problems are caused by our wanting to put ourselves or our own interests first. If we can surrender the "I" in our lives, along with the "mine," we can begin to see if we remember that we belong to God, we might just be able to see the needs of God's people in our midst.

If you have never surrendered to God, God shares an invitation from the last book in the Bible, Revelation 3:20: Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to (you) and eat with (you), and (you) with me. (RSV with ( ) from NRSV). That surrender begins with giving our heart to Jesus, opening wide the door and inviting the Lord of Life to come in and be our savior and friend.

PRAYER: Loving God, let me open the door of my heart to you daily. Let it be true as I pray the words, "I am no longer my own, but Thine." I pray in Jesus' precious name, amen.