Giving Back What’s Been Given: Prayers of Dedication to God

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”—Proverbs 16:3 (NIV) “‘I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.’ And he worshiped the Lord there.”—1 Samuel 1:27–28 (NIV)_ When I was a child, my dad often told me the story of how I got my name. He would sit me on his lap and recount how, when my mom was in labor, he waited nervously outside the hospital room, fully aware that he was about to become a father. He didn’t have a strong relationship with his own father, so the fear of failure weighed heavily on him as the reality of fatherhood sank in. In that quiet, anxious moment, he lifted a simple prayer to God: “God, help me. I don’t know how to do this.” And in that instant, he felt the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit: “Don’t be afraid. She is mine. I’m giving her for you to care for, but she is sent by God. Offer her back to Me.” The words struck him deeply. This child had been sent by God, just as the angel Gabriel was sent to announce the birth of Christ. Inspired by that encounter, my dad named me Gabriella. That night, after finally holding his baby girl, he did what the Spirit prompted: He dedicated my life back to God. Now, at 31, I can say with gratitude that my life has been lived for Jesus, thanks to my dad’s faithful training and the promise he made that day—to raise me in God’s ways. Similarly, in the Old Testament, Hannah offers her son Samuel to God in fulfillment of a vow. She dedicated him out of understanding and reverence, knowing that God is the owner of all things. He had given her this child, but he didn’t belong to her, he belonged to God. When we pray a prayer of dedication, we acknowledge that everything we have—our home, possessions, children, marriage, finances—is ultimately God’s. The word dedicate comes from the Latin dēdicāre, meaning “to proclaim, consecrate, devote, or set apart for a deity or purpose”:
  • dē = “completely, thoroughly”
  • dicāre = “to proclaim, declare”
When we dedicate something to God—a new home, a season of work, a marriage, a child—we’re making it fully known that it belongs to Him and is to be used for His purposes. God had given Hannah a child after years of barrenness and ridicule, and her response was one of worship through her offering her firstborn back to Him. What has God given you? A job you fervently prayed for? A spouse after years of longing for companionship? A home, a child, or financial provision? Out of gratitude, can you offer it back to the Lord as a thanksgiving offering? Can you set your home, marriage, career, and children apart for God’s purposes and not your own? To dedicate or set something apart is to trust. It’s to release our grasp and say: “Lord, this is Yours. Use it for Your glory. I will follow Your lead.” True surrender means trusting God with what He’s faithfully given us to steward, resting in the assurance that His plans and ways are better than our own, and that He desires to be glorified through everything He’s given us. You’ve received countless blessings from God’s hand. Pray with a heart of surrender, acknowledging that they’re ultimately His and freely offer them for His use—for your good and His glory.
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