But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well. Matt 6:33
and all these things will be given to you as well. Matt 6:33
FINISHING THE FOUNDATION
In our first lesson we established our objective to hear the voice of God and know what His will for us is. In the second lesson we learned that the first step towards our objective is to accept Jesus Christ as our savior. Since then we have learned that God wants us to do the “almost impossible thing” and totally surrender ourselves to Him. We also learned that the foundation for total surrender to God leading to hearing His voice and knowing His will for us in our lives is built on scripture and prayer. We have learned how to pray constantly (or at least more consistently), and how we can grow towards praising and thanking God at all times and in all situations. We learned that the harder we try, the worse we will get, so we prayed about our desire and intention to let God work in us, quoting His Word.
Now we are ready for one more prayer--the Prayer of Abandonment. It is one of the clearest statements of a desire to live totally for God--to be as surrendered to God as Jesus was, so that even if we face torture and death, we can say with Jesus and the many martyrs, “Not my will, but yours.” This prayer helps us to be so surrendered to God that our only joy comes from being in His will and doing what He wants us to do, when and how He wants us to do it. Those who pray this prayer may not have an easy life, but it will be the most exciting life imaginable—just like Jesus, Paul, the Apostles, the Saints and all other Christians who put themselves and their lives in God’s hands.
The prayer was written by Saint Charles de Foucauld, a French monk and priest who lived with and served the Tuareg in the Sahara Desert in Algeria. He was assassinated in 1916 outside the door of the fort he built for protection of the Tuareg, and is considered by the Catholic Church to be a martyr. His inspiration and writings led to the founding of the Little Brothers of Jesus among other religious congregations. I added (in italics) an introduction from 1 Samuel and an ending from Hildegard of Bingen (a Saint and Doctor of the Catholic Church), and also provide scripture references for several of the phrases in the prayer.
My heart rejoices in you Father;
There is no one holy like you;
There is no one besides you;
There is no rock like you. (1 Samuel 2:1-2)
I abandon myself into your hands;
Do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you;
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me and in all your creatures; (Matt 6:10)
I desire no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul; (Ps 31:5)
I offer it with all the love of my heart, (Deut 6:5, Matt 22:37)
For I love you Lord,
And so need to give myself into your hands.
Without reserve, and with boundless confidence,
I accept your divine presence in my life,
For you are my Father, (Matt 6:6) and I desire to become a feather on your breath (Hildegard of Bingen),
that I might be Christ’s light to my community, and a fountain of His Living Water for a parched and dying world.
A LIFE OF PRAYER
I have a weak back, and if I don’t consistently exercise and stretch I get serious back pain. My life as a Christian is very similar. If I don’t consistently pray and “stretch” my faith, I notice a growing weakness in my connection with the Lord. I decided to combine the two by praying while I exercise. This led to a very consistent half hour of prayer and stretching each morning, and has greatly strengthened my back and my faith!
ASSIGNMENT
1. Ask God to guide you in how to start each day with prayers of surrender such as the Lord’s Prayer, the modified Prayer of Jabez and the Prayer of Abandonment (Surrender Trilogy). Other prayers of surrender are available on the Prayers of Surrender page.
2. Read a daily meditation on scripture that you are comfortable with, such as the Magnificat publication.
3. Consider what opportunities there are in your life to combine prayer with your daily activities, and implement prayerful activities throughout your day.
4. Think of ways to remind yourself to pray the Praying Continually prayer throughout the day.
5. Begin and end each day with prayers of surrender like the Lord’s Prayer, the modified Prayer of Jabez and the Prayer of Surrender, and meditate on the scriptures you have memorized.
6. When you wake during the night, surrender to the Lord in prayer. (Ps 42:8, 63:6, 77:2-6, 119:55)
7. I encourage you to consistently pray the Prayer of Abandonment or another prayer of surrender until you know it by heart so you can pray it anytime and anywhere.
In our first lesson we established our objective to hear the voice of God and know what His will for us is. In the second lesson we learned that the first step towards our objective is to accept Jesus Christ as our savior. Since then we have learned that God wants us to do the “almost impossible thing” and totally surrender ourselves to Him. We also learned that the foundation for total surrender to God leading to hearing His voice and knowing His will for us in our lives is built on scripture and prayer. We have learned how to pray constantly (or at least more consistently), and how we can grow towards praising and thanking God at all times and in all situations. We learned that the harder we try, the worse we will get, so we prayed about our desire and intention to let God work in us, quoting His Word.
Now we are ready for one more prayer--the Prayer of Abandonment. It is one of the clearest statements of a desire to live totally for God--to be as surrendered to God as Jesus was, so that even if we face torture and death, we can say with Jesus and the many martyrs, “Not my will, but yours.” This prayer helps us to be so surrendered to God that our only joy comes from being in His will and doing what He wants us to do, when and how He wants us to do it. Those who pray this prayer may not have an easy life, but it will be the most exciting life imaginable—just like Jesus, Paul, the Apostles, the Saints and all other Christians who put themselves and their lives in God’s hands.
The prayer was written by Saint Charles de Foucauld, a French monk and priest who lived with and served the Tuareg in the Sahara Desert in Algeria. He was assassinated in 1916 outside the door of the fort he built for protection of the Tuareg, and is considered by the Catholic Church to be a martyr. His inspiration and writings led to the founding of the Little Brothers of Jesus among other religious congregations. I added (in italics) an introduction from 1 Samuel and an ending from Hildegard of Bingen (a Saint and Doctor of the Catholic Church), and also provide scripture references for several of the phrases in the prayer.
My heart rejoices in you Father;
There is no one holy like you;
There is no one besides you;
There is no rock like you. (1 Samuel 2:1-2)
I abandon myself into your hands;
Do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you;
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me and in all your creatures; (Matt 6:10)
I desire no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul; (Ps 31:5)
I offer it with all the love of my heart, (Deut 6:5, Matt 22:37)
For I love you Lord,
And so need to give myself into your hands.
Without reserve, and with boundless confidence,
I accept your divine presence in my life,
For you are my Father, (Matt 6:6) and I desire to become a feather on your breath (Hildegard of Bingen),
that I might be Christ’s light to my community, and a fountain of His Living Water for a parched and dying world.
A LIFE OF PRAYER
I have a weak back, and if I don’t consistently exercise and stretch I get serious back pain. My life as a Christian is very similar. If I don’t consistently pray and “stretch” my faith, I notice a growing weakness in my connection with the Lord. I decided to combine the two by praying while I exercise. This led to a very consistent half hour of prayer and stretching each morning, and has greatly strengthened my back and my faith!
ASSIGNMENT
1. Ask God to guide you in how to start each day with prayers of surrender such as the Lord’s Prayer, the modified Prayer of Jabez and the Prayer of Abandonment (Surrender Trilogy). Other prayers of surrender are available on the Prayers of Surrender page.
2. Read a daily meditation on scripture that you are comfortable with, such as the Magnificat publication.
3. Consider what opportunities there are in your life to combine prayer with your daily activities, and implement prayerful activities throughout your day.
4. Think of ways to remind yourself to pray the Praying Continually prayer throughout the day.
5. Begin and end each day with prayers of surrender like the Lord’s Prayer, the modified Prayer of Jabez and the Prayer of Surrender, and meditate on the scriptures you have memorized.
6. When you wake during the night, surrender to the Lord in prayer. (Ps 42:8, 63:6, 77:2-6, 119:55)
7. I encourage you to consistently pray the Prayer of Abandonment or another prayer of surrender until you know it by heart so you can pray it anytime and anywhere.