I wrote this piece a few years ago and thought it appropriate to post every year on Dark Friday.
Take Me, Break Me
(a prayer)
by Steve Laube
Take my eyes Lord.
Strike me blind.
* * *
Then heal me Lord
That I may see with Your eyes.
Take my hands Lord.
Crush every bone.
* * *
Then heal me Lord
That I may touch with Your tenderness.
Take my ears Lord.
Deafen me.
* * *
Then heal me Lord
That I may hear with Your sensitivity.
Take my feet Lord.
Amputate without hesitation.
* * *
Then heal me Lord
That I may walk only on Your path.
Take my tongue Lord.
Sever it.
* * *
Then heal me Lord
That I speak only with Your words.
Take my life Lord.
End it
Please.
* * *
Then resurrect me Lord
That I may have life only in You.
Hear my prayer.
Amen!
Agreeing with you. Thanks for sharing your heart.
Powerful! But then this is a powerful day!
Thanks for sharing.
Jackie
Thank you, Steve. I’ve never liked the name “Good” Friday. Dark Friday is a better descriptor. Your words are appreciated on this Dark Day, but we know the Son Rises.
Amen, Steve. Your prayer really spoke to my heart this morning and I thank you for sharing. Easter blessings to you and your family.
Thank you for this, Steve. Praying for courage to pray this with my whole heart. And mean it.
Amen.
A beautiful, powerful poem, Steve. Thanks for sharing it.
Well said!! Amen….
Good word, Steve! Have a blessed Easter.
Patrick
Steve, I’ve been dwelling on the meaning of this day since early morning. Thank you for the gift of this powerful and poignant prayer. I can’t help but wonder what prompted it. I have the sense it poured out of you without a lot of effort on your part….
(So great to reconnect with you at Mount Hermon. I pray that you and yours have a most blessed Easter.)
Beautiful prayer, Steve. I’m praying with you.
Have a wonderful Resurrection Sunday!
Thanks Steve – as always, excellent.
Powerful prayer, Steve. Praying to be quietly broken so we may walk boldly healed. Easter blessings to you and your family!
Wow!Steve, this is wonderful and wonderfully simple but oh so profound. Thanks for sharing with us.
Your poem expressed power with simplicity and humility with surrender.
This is something many Christian authors write about. I have my own favorites and would like to share one.
HIS EYES ARE WHAT I REMEMBER
Lyric
1. There was a child who came my way, he had a sweet, sad smile.
A comely lad with callused hands, we sat and talked awhile.
He didn’t talk about himself or of the games he played,
instead he asked me who I was and what I did each day.
CH: My soul grew strangely quiet, my heart was filled with peace.
What child was this who knew me so; whose words brought strange release?
His eyes were filled with laughter and sadness now and then.
His eyes are what I remembered and longed to see again.
2. I heard one day about a man who claimed to be God’s Son.
Our elders said that he must die for what he’d said and done.
I stood among the jeering crowd as soldiers forced him on;
two thieves and the false messiah, being driven through the dawn.
My God! The eyes! They are the same!
What have my people done!
He looks at me and through our tears forgives the thing I’ve done.
CH. My soul grew strangely quiet; my heart was filled with peace.
The Savior knew me as I was and granted sweet release.
His eyes showed forth compassion and cleansing for all men.
His eyes are what I remember and long to see again.
c. Donna Swanson from Splinters of Light.
Thank you for sharing with us.
Beautiful!
Ahhh, beautiful. Thank you for sharing!
Beautiful. What a blessing to read this morning. Thanks.
Amen. Thank you, Steve, for sharing such a wonderful reminder of what I need to do. Bless you.
Thank you, Steve. That was beautiful.
I’ve begun a tradition of using this as my meditation on Good/Dark Friday, Steve. Every year its meaning becomes deeper for me. Thank you for writing it and continuing to post it.
Awesome God. Awesome message. Thanks for sharing it.
Beautiful, thoughtful way to begin my Easter weekend. Thanks, Steve. Your poem is all the more powerful because it seems that you’ve truly prayed this prayer in your life and have received the “healing” and lived in it in word and deed.
Blessed Easter!
Amen.
Thank you for sharing this powerful prayer, obviously written by a man after God’s own heart. I printed it out to place in my Bible. What a beautiful picture of surrender and trust. I am grateful for your spiritual leadership, Steve.
Steve, this is a prayer we all should pray every day. It is the ultimate prayer of surrender. I shared the link with my blog followers today. Bless you and thank you.