"Several years ago you sent me the prayer of Betty Scott Stam on a small piece of parchment. It is a prayer of dedication and commitment and has turned my life around. I still carry it in my wallet and read it from time to time. I also share it with others whenever I feel it is appropriate. "I prayed that prayer nearly every day: 'Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes.. : until I could say it all and truly agree in my heart. The last part, 'at any cost,' took six months to achieve. Once I did, things moved quickly. My husband of twenty-three years divorced me to marry a younger woman. But God was gracious. [The writer tells the story of how He has led and provided.] Today, four years later, I am praying that prayer again, and I'm feeling a call I've felt since I was twelve-to the foreign mission field." Often, as Jesus told us (Lk 9:24), finding life (in heavenly terms) entails losing life (in earthly terms). What we had depended on gives way. "Thy will be done" means mine be undone. Betty Scott Stam could not have known that in a few years she would be beheaded by Chinese Communists when she prayed, Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all, utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt. Send me where Thou wilt. Work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever. Amen.
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