From what has already been said, one thing should be clear: real growth in the life of faith is not likely without a settled, personal, and devout act of consecration. If a Christian is unwilling to make such a commitment — or is content merely to wish for it without actually carrying it out through a clear and decisive act — there is little reason to expect deep progress or the kind of inward spiritual experience that I will describe later.
This duty is so important, and so much depends on it, that it deserves careful and focused attention on its own.
1. Consecration Must Be Deliberate
First, the consecration of ourselves to God — so essential to the growth and maturity of divine life — must be made thoughtfully and intentionally.
A calm, deliberate commitment respects who we are as rational, reflective beings. God created us with the ability to think and discern, and especially in matters of great importance, He expects us to act in harmony with those capacities. It is unreasonable to imagine that God would be more pleased with a careless, impulsive consecration than with one made through serious reflection.
Human beings did not fall into rebellion by accident; we strayed deliberately. It is therefore fitting — both to ourselves and to God — that our return be deliberate as well. True repentance involves a clear recognition of our sinfulness. A sincere resolve to do God’s will requires some real understanding of what He asks of us. And a firm commitment to future obedience should be supported by the full weight of thoughtful, honest consideration.
2. Consecration Must Be for All Time
Second, this consecration must be made for all future time.
It is true that there are more limited forms of consecration. A person may devote themselves, for a season, to a specific task — such as building a place of public worship — and in a partial sense, we might say that person is consecrated to that work. But such cases are very different from the consecration we are discussing here.
This consecration is fundamental and all-encompassing. It cannot be limited to one object while excluding others without contradicting its own nature. It addresses the very being of the soul, the roots of humanity’s departure from God, and the principles involved in restoration. It acknowledges the full weight of God’s unchanging and infinite claims. For reasons of truth, justice, safety, and happiness, it cannot be made for anything less than all time — and even eternity itself.
3. Consecration Must Be Without Reserve
Third, this consecration must include everything: our bodies and our spirits, our possessions and our persons—everything we are, everything we have, everything we can do, and everything we may be called to suffer. It must be made without any reservation.
Many religious people are willing to give something to God. Some may even be willing to give much. But the consecration being described here requires a willingness to give up everything — and not just in theory, but in practice.
It is true that in our present condition, certain things are necessary for daily life. God knows this and compassionately provides for our needs. Yet even these necessities — food, clothing, shelter, and all other temporal gifts — are to be held as gifts from God, entrusted to us for His purposes, and used in complete submission to His will.
Even more important is the surrender of the inner life. All the powers of the mind, every exercise of the intellect, every desire and intention of the heart and will, must be placed on the divine altar. This must be done with simplicity and sincerity, without hidden conditions, without secret attachment to self-interest. Everything is to be marked, as it were, with the inscription: holiness to the Lord — from God, of God, and for God.
Consecration without reserve also means surrendering not only what we do, but what we endure. It includes a willingness to suffer as God wills, at the time and place He chooses, and under whatever circumstances He appoints. It leaves no room for bargaining or self-direction — no attempt to dictate terms, no insistence on personal preference.
4. Consecration Must Rely on Divine Strength
Finally, since no effort or resolution of our own can succeed without God’s help, this consecration must be made in conscious reliance on divine strength.
On one hand, we must openly acknowledge our complete weakness. On the other, we must firmly trust in God’s readiness and willingness to support and deliver us in every trial and temptation. A consecration that does not clearly recognize our insufficiency, and that does not rest entirely on God as our only hope, lacks its most essential element. Such a consecration cannot expect divine blessing and cannot lead to lasting good.
As Dr. Philip Doddridge wisely counsels: we should hold it as a fixed principle that nothing in the life of faith is to be attempted in our own strength. If we forget this — and if God intends to save us — He will allow repeated failures to humble us until we learn better.
A consecration made deliberately, embracing every aspect of life without reserve, extending to all times and circumstances, and resting not on human effort but on divine power, places the soul in a new and deeply intimate relationship with God. It is difficult to see how a soul so given could ever be abandoned. God Himself is pledged to it. Even in times of darkness and trial, there will be sustaining grace — a light in the storm, the bright arc of promise breaking through the clouds.
A Final Reflection
Some people recognize the necessity of full consecration and are sincerely willing to make it, yet struggle with one troubling question. How, they ask, can we bind ourselves now to obey God in future situations we cannot foresee — situations whose difficulties we cannot yet understand, and for which we do not feel we have strength?
To this, there is only one answer: we must entrust ourselves to God in simple faith. He has promised that His grace is sufficient, and He has declared that He will never leave nor forsake His people. With that assurance, we may confidently say that the Lord is our helper, and we need not fear what anyone may do to us.
In closing, it is worth repeating Dr. Doddridge’s practical advice on making this consecration. He urges that it be done with the utmost seriousness and solemnity. It should be expressed clearly, in words — and in many cases, he suggests, it may be especially helpful to put it in writing. By doing so, a person records that on a particular day, at a particular place, after careful thought and reflection, they resolved — regardless of what others might do — that they would serve the Lord.
A Sample Prayer of Consecration
Suggested by a prayer written by Philip Dodderidge (1702-1751).
Ever-blessed and eternal God,
I come before You humbled to the core. I know how unworthy I am to stand before the holy Majesty of heaven, let alone to enter into a covenant with You. I come fully aware of my sin, owning my guilt, and praying from the heart, just as the tax collector did: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
I come because You have invited me — invited me in the name of Your Son. I place all my trust in His perfect righteousness, not my own. For His sake, I ask You to show mercy to my unrighteousness and to remember my sins no more.
Lord, I return to You the powers and abilities I once misused and pulled away from Your service. Please receive me — Your poor, rebellious creature — now convinced of Your rightful claim on my life and longing above all else to belong to You. With deep seriousness and intention, I give myself back to You today.
Today I openly declare that the Lord is my God, and I declare myself to be one of Your covenant people. Hear this, God of heaven, and record it in Your book of remembrance: I am Yours — entirely Yours.
I am not offering You only part of myself, or certain abilities, or a portion of my possessions. I am not giving You my service for a limited season. Relying completely on Your grace and help, I give myself to You — fully, completely, and forever.
From this day forward, I renounce every former master that once ruled me — every sin, every desire, every false allegiance. In Your name, I set myself in lasting opposition to the powers of hell that unjustly claimed authority over my soul, and to every corruption their temptations have planted within me.
Today I place my whole self before You — my mind, my body, every ability and every part of my being — as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. I know this is my most reasonable act of worship.
I consecrate not only who I am and what I can do, but also everything I own. I ask You to give me the strength and courage to use whatever influence I have over others — within every relationship and responsibility You’ve given me — for Your glory.
And not only do I offer myself for Your service; I also humbly submit myself to Your will. I surrender all that I am and all that I have, ready to endure whatever You see fit to bring into my life. I place everything I possess and everything I desire into Your hands, asking You to manage and direct it as You choose.
I resolve to accept whatever You appoint for me, bringing my will into full alignment with Yours. I choose to see myself as nothing, and You as everything — the great and eternal God whose word should determine all things, and whose rule should be the joy of all creation.
Receive me, heavenly Father, as Your returning child. Wash me in the blood of Your beloved Son. Clothe me in His perfect righteousness. Sanctify me completely by the power of Your Spirit.
And Lord, when my life is drawing to its close, when my strength is fading and my mind may no longer remember this covenant, remember it Yourself. Look with compassion on Your dying child. Give strength and confidence to my departing spirit, and receive me into the embrace of Your everlasting love.
This is a revision of Part 1, Chapter 4 of Thomas C. Upham's book The Interior or Hidden Life (2nd edition 1844), written with the assistance of Microslop CoPilot. The original chapter can be found here: On the Act or Covenant of Religious Consecration.
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