(Adapted from Moving Mountains, Chapter 8.)

The act of consecration is “repairing the wiring,” the first step, before God’s protection and provision can flow. It is the fresh act of dedicating yourself—or your home, a relationship, a job, your sexuality, whatever needs God’s grace—deliberately and intentionally to Jesus, bringing it fully into his kingdom and under his rule. It seems so obvious, now that we state it, but you would be surprised how often this vital step is overlooked (and then folks wonder why their prayers don’t seem to be effective).

Below you will find several different prayers of consecration. You may want or need to change some ideas or wording to fit the specific aspects you want to consecrate. But these should provide some helpful guidelines. 

Consecrating Your Day and Your Work

When I (John) come into my office to work on this book, I don’t start banging away on my keyboard; that would be utterly foolish and, frankly, a bit arrogant. This book is far too important; I want it fully under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Plus, the enemy jams the process any way he can. So first—after my daily prayers—I turn on some worship music, get down on my knees, and worship God in my office; I worship Jesus “over” my office and the book I am writing. Then I pray something like this: 

I consecrate my life again today to the Holy Spirit—I consecrate my gifting and my writing; I consecrate this book—every word, every paragraph, every page, all of the structure, the flow, the stories, the very spirit of it. (You will want to adapt this to the things you are consecrating). I consecrate this office and my computer. I bring this all under the rule of Jesus and under the filling of the Holy Spirit. And I call forth the creative life rule of Jesus Christ throughout my office today, throughout my gifting and all of my writing, in Jesus’ name.

Consecrating Your Body

Before the healing power of God can flow into a body, you have to re-present that body to God; you have to bring it under the loving rule of Jesus once again. Referring to the illustration on electricity, Sanford went on to say, “The same principle is true of the creative energy of God. The whole universe is full of it, but only the amount of it that flows through our beings will work for us.” Consecration is healing the “connection,” so that God’s power can flow into our bodies. So we pray something along these lines:

I present my body to Jesus Christ as a living sacrifice; I present the members of my body to Jesus Christ as instruments of righteousness. My body has been bought with the blood of Jesus Christ and it belongs to him. My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. I renounce every way I have misused and abused my body; I bring all those acts under the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. I rededicate my body and all its parts to the loving rule of Jesus Christ; I dedicate and consecrate my body to him in every way. I ask for the blood of Christ to cleanse my body and make it holy once more. Holy Spirit, come and fill your temple now; restore my body under the complete dominion of Jesus Christ. 

Consecrating Your Home

This is a condensed version, for we certainly always worship through the house and find it helpful to anoint the doors with oil or with communion wine.

Father, thank you for the blessing and the provision of this home. We bring it under our authority now, and under the authority of Jesus Christ. We take full authority over this home, in the name of Jesus Christ. The keys to this home have been given to us—authority has been given to us— and we take a total and complete authority over this entire home now, in Jesus’ name. We renounce all ungodliness and all sinful activity that has ever taken place in this home. We renounce the sins of all previous owners, renters, guests, even the builder (for those are the things that give the enemy claim). We cancel every claim the enemy can make here, by the blood of Jesus Christ. We cleanse this home with the blood of Christ—everything spiritual, everything physical. We consecrate and we dedicate this home to the rule of Jesus Christ, and to the Holy Spirit. We consecrate the appliances, the structure and infrastructure, the water and electricity; we consecrate the physical realm and the spiritual realm; we consecrate the land as well. [Walk through every room, do this very deliberately.] Come, Holy Spirit, come and fill every part of this home with the glory of your kingdom, with love, with peace, with holy rest. Jesus, we ask your angels to cleanse this home now, to establish your kingdom here, to build a shield of protection around it. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ the Lord, we now proclaim this home and land and everything in it the property of the kingdom of God. 

Consecrating Your Sexuality

In an age of epidemic sexual brokenness and devastation like ours, the consecration and healing of our sexuality is urgent. This is a brief prayer to consecrate sexuality, but for deeper healing you will want to see our Prayer for Sexual Healing.

Jesus, I confess here and now that you are my Creator and therefore the creator of my sexuality. I confess that you are also my Savior, that you have ransomed me with your blood and you are therefore the savior of my sexuality. I have been bought with the blood of Jesus Christ; my life and my body belong to God; my sexuality belongs to God. Jesus, I present myself to you now to be made whole and holy in every way, including in my sexuality. You ask us to present our bodies to you as living sacrifices and the parts of our bodies as instruments of righteousness. I do this now. I present my body, my sexuality (“as a man” or “as a woman”) and I present my sexual nature to you.