The Story Behind 'Take My Life and Let It Be'

The story behind Take My Life and Let It Be is the story of a night nobody could sleep through. In 1874, Frances Ridley Havergal was staying in a house full of people, and she prayed that God would bless every one of them. According to her own account, the answer came so fully that she lay awake through the night — and out of that wakefulness came a hymn that surrenders everything a person has.

Who wrote it?

Frances Ridley Havergal was an English poet and devotional writer of the nineteenth century. She was remarkably devout and remarkably learned — she memorised large portions of scripture and studied Greek and Hebrew — yet her health was fragile, and she died at only forty-two. Her writing carries a note of glad, total surrender that was not merely poetic; those who knew her said she lived it.

A hymn written couplet by couplet

Havergal described the hymn's origin plainly. During her visit she had prayed for the blessing of all in the house, and when God answered, she was too full of joy to sleep. Through the night the lines came to her, couplet by couplet, each one offering a further part of her life to God: "Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise."

Read the hymn slowly and you see the pattern. It works through the whole person, limb by limb and gift by gift. "Take my hands... take my feet... take my voice... take my lips... take my silver and my gold... take my intellect... take my will... take my heart... take my love... take myself." Nothing is left off the altar.

The verse she actually obeyed

The line that has arrested readers most is "Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold." Havergal did not treat it as a figure of speech. She gathered up most of her jewelry and sent it away to be sold for Christian mission work, keeping only a few pieces of deep personal meaning. She reportedly wrote that she had never packed a box with such pleasure. The hymn was not a sentiment she sang; it was a life she led.

Why the story matters

Consecration — the offering of one's whole self to God — can sound abstract until you watch someone do it in the particulars. Havergal's hymn refuses the abstract. It will not let the singer surrender "everything" in general while keeping the specifics back. It names the hands, the money, the will, the very self. That is uncomfortable, and it is meant to be. To sing it honestly is to feel the pull of each line, and to decide whether we mean it as she did.

Sitting with it at home

If you would like to study this hymn slowly, our Take My Life and Let It Be Deep-Dive Study gathers the full public-domain text, the story of Frances Havergal's night of surrender, the scripture behind each petition, and reflection questions for a week of readings.

You might also enjoy the story behind Amazing Grace or our guide to leading a hymn study at home.