The definition of consecrate is to be set apart, sanctified; elsewhere, it is the devoting or setting apart of anything to the worship or service of God. In the New Testament, Christians are considered consecrated to the Lord:

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“But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light….”

1 Peter 2:9

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Would it be that my life, every day, would be one that is consecrated to the Lord…not just on Sundays, but every day!

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Consecration and Worship, p. 232

(a prayer from The Valley of Vision)

My God,

I feel it is heaven to please thee, and to be what thou wouldst have me be.

O that I were holy as thou art holy, pure as Christ is pure, perfect as thy Spirit is perfect!

These, I feel, are the best commands in thy Book, and shall I break them? must I break them?

am I under such a necessity as long as I live here?

Woe, woe is me that I am a sinner, that I grieve this blessed God, who is infinite in goodness and grace!

O, if he would punish me for my sins, it would not wound my heart so deep to offend him; but though I sin continually, he continually repeats his kindness to me.

At times I feel I could bear any suffering, but how can I dishonour this glorious God?

What shall I do to glorify and worship this best of beings?

O that I could consecrate my soul and body to his service, without restraint, for ever!

O that I could give myself up to him, so as never more to attempt to be my own!

or have any will or affections that are not perfectly conformed to his will and his love!

But, alas, I cannot live and not sin.

O may angels glorify him incessantly, and, if possible, prostrate themselves lower before the blessed King of heaven!

I long to bear a part with them in ceaseless praise; but when I have done all I can to eternity I shall not be able to offer more than a small fraction of the homage that the glorious God deserves.

Give me a heart full of divine, heavenly love.

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One of the church’s greatest hymns, Take My Life and Let it Be, reflects the thoughts mentioned above:

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Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee;
Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.

Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee;
Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.

Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise;
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.

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May my ultimate purpose be to live “ever, only, all for Thee!“