A Writer’s Hymn
(based on and drawing from a hymn by Frances Ridley Havergal)
Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.
Take my keyboard, and my screen; my desk and office chair,
My pages, sentences, and words, my flittings here and there,
My focus and my flow, my pacings up and down,
My insecurities and fears, my grins, my groans, my frowns.
Let every bit be used by you, the good, the bad, and ugly too.
Make me better than I know to be, by being yours while being me,
Let every word I type be true by coming first and most from you.
Suggest, revise, inform, inspire, and take my writing higher and higher.
Take my fingertips, let them be filled with messages from Thee.
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.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
Yes and amen. Thank you Bob, for the reminder of where my heart belongs. May this always be my song and prayer.
Amen.
As a former church organist and pianist having written lyrics to one unpublished hymn/worship song I appreciate your words Bob! I will make a copy for inspiration.
Amen
I love this, it captures my heart’s desire. Thanks for sharing.
Bob, this is beautiful. Truly.
If I may ask for prayers…
Gird me for this day, O Lord,
for I am sore afraid
of that which I am headed toward,
my welcome overstayed.
The gyre spins too swiftly now,
to imagine sweet relief;
I need a friend to tell me how
to maintain green hope’s belief.
I’ve forgotten how to write of love,
and how to tell of dreams.
The cold blue burning vault above
echoes to my screams.
Please pray my writing still finds grace,
and Lord, get me outta this place.
If the last line rings a bell, it’s lifted from THE iconic song of Viet Nam, and which has become my sountrack.
So, if I may, here’s alink to ‘We Gotta Get Outta This Place’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJVpihgwE18
Sending love and prayers, my brother. Father, have mercy on your devoted son, in Jesus’ most precious name. Amen.
Judith, thank you so much. The days are frightening beyond description.
Praying for you!
Psalm 23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Christy, thank you; prayers are the only answer now.
Praying Andrew from my quiet time this morning in Psalm 70:5, “But I am poor and needy; make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay.” Praying this for you and God’s strength without measure. HUGS
Sherry, thank you so much for the prayers and Scripture; they mean a lot to me. And hugs are sure welcome!
I’m so blessed by and grateful for this community; I’m so far past the end of my own strength.
Andrew what an excellent song for each of us. Prayers for you, each and every day.
Claire, thank you for this lovely affirmation, andmost especially for your prayers.
I believe you are fighting the good fight and winning the race, Andrew. Like seeds determined to reach the sun, your passion for God and your writing in the midst of battle bring glory to Him and, to us, inspiration. Thank you!
Catherine, I am so grateful for your kind words, and for the lovely, wondrous similie of seeds reaching for the sun. What a gift!
Awesome and so true. Thanks for sharing.
Bob, this brought tears to my eyes. Bless you, brother! Thank you for this.
Wonderful, Bob.
Blessings ~ Wendy Mac
Thank you, Bob. I needed this today. Right now and all week long.
Thank you, Bob. This is perfect. Never thought of this hymn in quite this way before, but I’ll remember these words along with the originals whenever I sing it from here on. What a perfect hymn for an author.
Bob, this was one of my favorite hymns before today.
It has just moved up a couple of notches, just under
Great Is Thy Faithfulness,
Near to the Heart of God, and
Breathe on Me, Breath of God.
Thank you for your thoughtful, prayerful lyrics.
Amen
A cute re-write with meaningful applications. Thanks, Bob.
Thank you! This will be my daily prayer.
I’ve loved this hymn for a long while. Thanks for the reminder and for the writerly-edition.
I did love this wonderful reminder, Bob that we lean not on our frame, but His. Psalm 69:30 “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with Thanksgiving.”
Thank you, Bob!
There are days when I simply write/rewrite/edit and ask God… how do I glorify You today?
Praise, prayer, being faithful to His Word, and in my actions no matter what I do (even washing dishes…), and that all I do, even if in the future (faith that my work will be someday blessed and reach those who need the words of grace. If naught, my work is for nothing!). Colossians 3:23 doing all things as to the Lord.
So praying for my mind/fingers/computer to express the words, to follow your hymn as fun as it is to read.
This is now posted on my wall. Awesome and inspiring!
Well done!
Unbelievable! I’m knee-deep in trying to complete a proposal. But I was also asked to bring a short talk on “Take My Life And Let It Be” this past Sunday for a Bible class. I’m speechless! This post is a keeper. Thanks, Bob, for being God’s messenger.
Thinking of you, Andrew, from a fellow blue heeler owner:
This is not Biblical and yet it is: It is the First Law of Thermodynamics which says, “Nothing is created or destroyed, it only changes form.” Aka, as Einstein discovered, matter and energy are interchangeable and can convert one to the other. E= mc squared.
Speaking only for myself here, I find the thought of changing to pure energy fascinating. As I wrote in my book, I think our bodies are like hot air balloons for the energy, and when we pass, the energy just leaves this balloon! (Yes, Bob, I used an exclamation point.) Since we’ve never known anything but our balloons, it has a frightening component; the unknown always does.
I pray for peace for you, Andrew, and for all of us, both during our time in our balloons and when we depart from them. (And in case you think this is too weird, I taught science, which, by definition, makes me even more of an exclamation point!}
Love the song, Bob.
Sharon, thank you so much, and blue heelers forever! (There is one sitting on my feet as I write this.)
I love the model that you describe, of the balloon…living in New Mexico, and oten seeing balloons in the local sky, it’s particularly resonant for me.
And not weird at all. I have a couple of engineering degrees, having slipped through, like Geroge Armstrong Custer, at the bottom of my class.
Facing my own metaphorical Little Bighorn, and having a neighbour named Custer, I find that curiously reassuring…kind of an example of God’s Economy.
A day late, but I wanted to respond, Andrew. I’ve seen the beautiful balloons at Albuquerque, but don’t live there. Phenomenal. We should never underestimate “God’s economy!
Pet your heeler for me. Prayers!
Sharon
That song is a wonderful reminder of what our life is meant to be: dedicated to God to give Him glory and dedicated to others so they’ll know the love of God. Yet, Jesus said to love others as we love ourselves. What a privilege to be called by God.
Thanks for the new song.
Thanks, Bob. That is a welcome reminder that we need to submit ourselves totally to the Lord’s will for our lives.