In our first service of the New Year we were invited to join in the Methodist Covenant Prayer:
I am no longer my own, but yours.
Your will, not mine, be done in all things,
Wherever you may place me,
in all that I do and in all that I may endure:
when there is work for me and when there is none:
when I am troubled and when I am at peace.
Your will be done,
When I am valued, and when I am disregarded;
When I find fulfillment, and when it is lacking;
When I have all things and when I have nothing;
I willingly offer all I have and am to serve you,
as and when you choose.
And now, glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
You are mine, and I am yours.
May it be so forever.
Let this covenant,
Now made on earth,
Be fulfilled in heaven.
Amen
God’s gracious offer to Israel that “I will be their God and they shall be my people” is extended beyond Israel to all women and men in Jesus Christ, who also provides the supreme example of what it is to live in such a relationship with God. The Covenant Prayer affirms that, as Christians, we give our lives and choices to God. It is about surrendering to God in love and joy*.
*The Methodist Church in Britain: A Covenant with God