PRAYER OF COMMITMENT
God, I realize that I have sinned and that my sin separates me from You. I come to You in repentance and I receive Your forgiveness in Christ.
Jesus, I believe You died on the cross for me and I join You in death to sin. I believe You rose from the grave for me and I join You in resurrection to eternal life, which You give by grace through faith.
I take You, Jesus, as Savior and Lord, to have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; forsaking all others and holding only to You throughout eternity; I give You my life.
EXPLANATION OF THE PRAYER
Life is about personal relationships, and relationships are about commitment. The deepest commitment a person can make to anyone is, “I give you my life.” The Prayer of Commitment embodies the meaning of this statement. There are three parts to the prayer.
Part One includes “3 Rs” that are necessary to restore a relationship with God. Just as education is built on the basics of 3 Rs, (reading, writing, arithmetic), a personal relationship with God is also built on 3 Rs (realize, repent, receive). A relationship with God and people is broken because of sin. Until we realize our sin we will not respond to it; consequently the relationship remains broken. When we realize our sin separates us from God we can then act. The action is called repentance, which means “change your mind.” Repentance happens when we choose to turn away from sin and return to the One we have offended. Only then are we in a position to receive forgiveness, which is the gift of mercy and grace given by the One offended. God forgives those who truly repent. The gift is free for the person, but not for God the Father, because it cost His Son.
Part Two of the prayer reveals the great price of the gift; Jesus died for our sins, and we must join Him with an attitude that chooses not to live in sin anymore. Jesus has risen from the dead, and we join Him in a resurrection to eternal life that comes when we place faith in Christ, God’s gracious gift.
Part Three of the prayer reveals the nature of this commitment. Basically, it is a marriage of our spirit with the Spirit of God. The traditional marriage vows communicate the depth of commitment between a man and woman for life. These vows, so familiar to us, are only slightly modified to show the depth of commitment God wants us to have with Him forever. As God gave His life to us through Jesus Christ, we must give our lives to Christ in order to enjoy spiritual union with God forever.