We are incapable of “opening our hands” to receive what God has promised to give for fear that we might lose what we think we have grasped. And so we pray with Jeremy Taylor that God would “open our hands for us. And [that he would] not only open [our] hand, but also open [our] mouth. And not only [our] mouth, but [our] heart also.” We are dependent upon divine action.

Prayer for Open Hands

You have called me to open my hand so that You can fill it. But I would not open my hand. I held the world tightly and kept my hand shut. I would not let it go. But, please God, open my hand for me. And do not only open my hand, but also open my mouth. And not only my mouth, but my heart also.

Grant that I may know nothing but You, that I may count everything as loss compared to You, and that I may strive to be conformed to You.
—Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667)

The Allure of Temptation

This seventeenth century prayer captures the struggles of the Christian life in an incredibly personal manner. Believers of every era grapple with God’s command to give up everything for his sake, even while they strive to understand the corresponding promise of greater rewards. Jesus himself reminds his disciples, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:39). But if we are honest, that command remains a challenge. After all, even as followers of Christ, we live in a fallen world, surrounded by temptations that vie for our attention. We regularly attempt to wrest control of our circumstances and to take as much from this world as we possibly can.

The author of this prayer, Jeremy Taylor, knew both the best and worst this world had to offer as he moved from a preferred student at Cambridge and Oxford to a high profile position in the Stuart church that included access to King Charles I. Later, he suffered the ignominy of defeat as his king lost his fight with Parliament, and Taylor was imprisoned for his royal connections. After the Restoration, he once again found himself in a preferential position, serving as a bishop in Ireland until his death.

Most of us have not experienced the extreme highs and lows of Taylor’s life, but we can all relate to the vivid example of the temptation to hold too tightly to the trivial things of this world.

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