Topic: Prayer, Missions, Obedience, Suffering, Testimony, Martyrdom

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." Matthew 16:24-25, NIV

I've been a Christian for many years, and without reservation, I call Jesus Christ "Lord." But recently I realized I have farther to go in committing all of myself to God when I heard this prayer written years ago by Betty Scott:

"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 my self, 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. And work out Thy whole will in my life -- at any cost, now and forever."

Those words are not only beautiful but risky: if you mean them, they may lead your life in directions you never anticipated.

In Betty's case, they led her and her husband John Stam to serve as missionaries in China, some sixty years ago. While there, Betty and John were captured by Chinese Communists, stripped half-naked, chained together, and marched through the streets of a little village. Then both were beheaded.

That example of heroic sacrifice for Christ galvanized the imagination of an year-old girl, Elisabeth Elliot, who went on to become a missionary, author, and Christian leader who ministers widely today.

Today, that prayer and example have challenged me. I am trying to mold my soul around Betty Scott's words: "Work out Thy whole will in my life -- at any cost, now and forever."

From Kevin Miller, guest columnist.

Reprinted from ChurchLeadership.Net, a biweekly newsletter from the editors of LEADERSHIP journal, designed to supercharge your ministry. To subscribe to ChurchLeadership.Net, go to:

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