A Living Prayer

I love praise songs that are also a prayer. It’s powerful when you can close your eyes and sing the words to God and really mean what you’re saying. Over the years, I’ve found many songs have touched me that way. But one song takes the cake. The first time I heard Make My Life a Prayer to You, by Keith Green, I was moved to tears. Just the title of the song says it all.

The idea that our lives themselves could be a prayer to Almighty God – every action, every word, every motive… puts things into perspective. If the way I treat others is my “prayer” what am I saying to God? Am I living words that bring Him glory?

The Bible tells us to do all things to the glory of God, but putting it into practice isn’t always easy. What I love about this song is that the song itself asks for God’s help in doing just that. It acknowledges our need for help in this area. “Make my life a prayer to You – I want to do what You want me to…”

Just like Paul in Romans 7, this song recognizes that what we do and what we want to do aren’t always one and the same. It acknowledges we have prayed token prayers – but we don’t want to. It acknowledges that we have prayed empty words – but we don’t want to. Our deepest desire is to shine His light and tell the world about Him – that’s what we want to do.

Dying to self it what it all boils down to and Keith Green sums it all up in the last stanza of his song: “I want to die and let You give Your life to me so I might live and share the hope You gave to me - the love that set me free.” To truly make our lives a prayer to Almighty God takes dying to self. There is no other way. As long as “self” is sitting high up on her perch, my life prayer won’t be the sweet aroma that God desires it to be. But the great thing is, He is patient with me and He loves me. Imagine – our lives can be a prayer to Almighty God and He’ll help us do it.

Make My Life a Prayer to You

Keith Green

Make my life a prayer to You

I want do what You want me to
No empty words and no white lies
No token prayers no compromise

I want to shine the light You gave
Through Your Son You sent to save us
From ourselves and our despair
It comforts me to know You're really there

Chorus
Well I want to thank You now
For being patient with me
Oh it's so hard to see
When my eyes are on me
I guess I'll have to trust
And just believe what You say
Oh You're coming again
Coming to take me away

I want to die and let You give
Your life to me so I might live
And share the hope You gave me
The love that set me free

I want to tell the world out there
You're not some fable or fairy tale
That I've made up inside my head
You're God the Son and You've risen from the dead

Chorus

I want to die and let You give
Your life to me so I might live
And share the hope You gave to me
The love that set me free