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Prayers and discipleship
Utilize these prayers in personal and planning team devotions, during congregational worship or as copy for materials you may create to support your congregation’s discipleship emphasis.

O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire you with a whole heart, so that desiring you we may seek you with a whole heart, so that desiring you we may seek and find you; and so finding you, may love you; and loving you, may hate those sins which separate us from you, for the sake of Jesus Christ.
- St. Anselm, 1033-1109 (1)

Our Father, you called us and saved us in order to make us like your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Change us, day by day, by the work of your Holy Spirit so that we may grow more like him in all that we think and say and do, to his glory. Amen. - Soren Kirkegaard, 1813-1855 (2)

I am only a spark Make me a fire. I am only a string Make me a lyre. I am only a drop Make me a fountain. I am only an ant hill Make me a mountain. I am only a feather Make me a wing. I am only a rag Make me a king!
- prayer from Mexico (3)

You who are over us, You who are one of us, You who are also within us, May all see you in me also, May I prepare the way for you, May I thank you for all that shall fall to my lot, May I also not forget the needs of others... Give me a pure heart - that I may see you, A humble heart - that I may hear you, A heart of love - that I may serve you, A heart of faith - that I may abide in you.
- Dag Hammarskjold, 1905-1961 (4)

God of your goodness, give me yourself, For you are sufficient for me… If I were to ask anything less I should always be in want, For in you alone do I have all. - Julian of Norwich, 1342-1413 (5)

Lord, if You have to break me to remake me, let Your will be done.
- Marian Wright Edelman (6)

Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Thomas Aquinas, 1225-1274 (7)

Father, behold thy child; Creator, behold thy creature; Master, behold thy disciple; Saviour, behold thy redeemed one; Spirit, behold thy cleansed one; Comforter, behold one whom thou dost uphold; So I come to thee, O infinite and unimaginable, To worship thee. - Margaret Cropper, 1886-1980 (8)

Take, O Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my will; all that I have and possess. You have given them to me; to you, O Lord, I restore them. All things are yours: Dispose of them according to your will. Give me your love and your grace; for this enough for me.
- Mother Teresa, 1910-1996 (9)

Lord by thy grace, let the poor see me be drawn to Christ and invite him to enter their homes and their lives. Let the sick and the suffering find in me a real angel of comfort and consolation. Let the little ones of the streets cling to me because I remind them of him, the friend of all little ones.
- Mother Teresa, 1910-1996 (10)

A Rite of Commitment from This Far By Faith (11)
The young person may tie a knot in a length of cord, saying these or similar words:
I, (name), tie this knot in the presence of God and this community. This knot is a sign of my pledge to follow in the way of Jesus and climb the ladder of growth that is before me. I ask the God of our ancestors and the people of Christ to strengthen, lead and guide me; in the name of Jesus.

C: In the name of Jesus. Amen

The cord is passed on to family members, who tie another knot on the first one, saying these or similar words to the young person:
We, too, tie a knot on your knot, a sign of the promise we make to you today in the presence of God and of this community. We will support and help you in any way, and by any means necessary. We will pray for you, advise you and help you to discern and carry out your calling. We ask the God of our ancestors and the people of Christ to strengthen, lead and guide us; in the name of Jesus.

C: In the name of Jesus. Amen

A Prayer for Commitment to the ELCA - wide Call to Discipleship
Gracious God, Jesus is calling me to a new beginning; to a fresh call to discipleship. You are asking me to deny myself, take up my cross and follow you. It was at my baptism that you claimed me as your child. Today, I affirm that I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. I surrender my will, my desires and my life to you, O God. I commit myself to your call to discipleship: to pray, study your Word, worship you, invite other people to a life of discipleship, encourage Christians in their life of faith, serve those in need, and give joyfully of the gifts that You first gave me. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

(1) Mary Batchelor (compiled by), The Doubleday Prayer Collection. New York: Doubleday, 1996. p. 11.
(2) Ibid. p. 11.
(3) Ibid. p. 12.
(4) Ibid. p. 13.
(5) Ibid. p. 14.
(6)Marion Wright Edelman, Guide My Feet. Boston: Beacon Press, 1995. p. 62.
(7) Batchelor, p. 12.
(8) Geo. Appleton (General Editor) The Oxford Book of Prayer, New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1985.p. 137.
(9) Compiled by Robert Van de Weyer, The Harper Collins Book of Prayers. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993. p. 352.
(10) Ibid. p. 352.
(11)This Far by Faith. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1999. p. 105.