When I was a parish pastor, nearly every January the worship leaders and I led a Wesleyan Covenant Renewal service. Through that worship celebration we examined our ways of living, offered repentance, confirmed God’s promises, and renewed our heart’s pledge to live in the fullness of our love for God. In the wild wilderness of our contemporary time, I find myself drawn to Wesleyan Covenant Renewal. As our contemporary terrain of humanity fluctuates with finances, injustices, raging disease and the sorrow of death through this pandemic, we are invited to covenant renewal. Amid of all that is before us with God’s Word stronger than death itself. I invite you to consider ratifying our covenantal love for God this day through the Wesleyan Covenant Renewal prayer and worship. The service in its entirety is found at https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/covenant-renewal-service
The Scripture
Throughout the Hebrew and Greek testaments there are numerous calls to God’s people across the generations to examine, renew and make new our covenant to God. From Jeremiah:
This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jeremiah+31%3A31-34&version=NRSV
Having God’s covenant written upon the heart is much more than just affirmation of belief. It is to become the force of love which impacts all our actions, thoughts, and words in relationship with others.
Today’s Prayer Practice
Together we will pray with the Wesleyan Covenant and the prayers of liturgy surrounding it. You are invited to hear God invitation to you for this season of life. Consider for relationships with others inclusive of family, friends and strangers, what phrases catch your heart’s attention? What practical, concrete, life- listening action are you being invited to as you renew your convent love for God?
To begin go to https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/covenant-renewal-service . Scroll down to the bottom so you can download and print this as a pdf. Read through the liturgy and the Wesleyan Covenant renewal. Now that you know what is happening it is time to pray. On the next read through, write down the phrases which capture your heart’s attention and the ones which may currently be most difficult for you. For me some of the most difficult comes from the second clauses of the prayer:
I put myself fully into your hands:
put me to doing, put me to suffering,
let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you,
let me be full, let me be empty,
let me have all things, let me have nothing.
Preparing Your Covenant
After you write the phrases which attracted you heart, write your own covenant with God. Once you have written your own intentions for covenant, possibly based upon the works of Wesley, please sign it. Offer your signed covenant to God. Finally, conclude your time of praying as you commit to the concrete actions you will seek to live before God fulfilling your covenant. You may desire to write these down as well. In conclusion of your covenant renewal prayer, please join me in praying:
O mighty God, the Lord Omnipotent, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
you have now become my Covenant Friend.
And I, through your infinite grace, have become your covenant servant.
So be it.
And let the covenant I have made on earth be ratified in heaven.
Amen.
May it be so. Enjoy praying.
