Take O Take Me As I Am
Take, O take me as I am;
"Take, O take me as I am" is a prayer of radical self-surrender addressed to God, and its theological freight is carried almost entirely in three compressed movements: acceptance ('take me as I am'), transformation ('summon out what I shall be'), and indwelling ('set your seal upon my heart and live in me'). The first movement is a confession of the self's incompleteness and a renunciation of any pretense of self-sufficiency before God — a posture deeply resonant with Lutheran anthropology. The worshiper does not come to God having first achieved a certain spiritual condition; the prayer assumes that God must take the initiative and receive the person as they are. This is the grammar of grace, not of merit. The second movement, 'summon out what I shall be,' introduces an eschatological and sanctifying dimension. The language of 'summoning out' suggests that God calls forth from the person a future self that is not yet visible or fully formed — a vocation latent within the baptized life, awaiting the creative word of God to bring it into being. This resonates with both Lutheran understandings of vocation (Beruf) and with the Pauline theology of new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), in which the identity of the believer is oriented not primarily toward the past but toward a divinely promised future. The third movement, 'set your seal upon my heart and live in me,' draws on Song of Songs 8:6 ('Set me as a seal upon your heart') and Pauline indwelling language (Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 3:17), affirming that the relationship sought is one of mutual presence — God dwelling within the human person through the Spirit. For Lutheran ecumenical use, this text functions beautifully as a sung response to absolution, baptismal renewal, or the sermon, where it enacts what it describes: the worshiper's prayerful self-offering in response to the proclaimed Gospel. The Law/Gospel dynamic is present but weighted toward Gospel: the implicit acknowledgment of need ('as I am' carries a confessional undertone) gives way immediately to the grace of divine acceptance and transforming presence. The text avoids moralism entirely; it does not tell the worshiper what to do, but rather prays that God will do what only God can do. This makes it particularly valuable in Lutheran liturgical contexts as an expression of the theology of the cross — the God who meets us in our actual condition rather than our idealized condition — and as a sung enactment of trust in the promissory character of divine speech.
History & Background
"Take, O take me as I am" was written by John L. Bell and published by the Iona Community's Wild Goose Publications in 1995, appearing in the collection 'He Was in the World: Meditations for Public Worship.' The text is remarkably brief — a single stanza of four lines — yet it has achieved extraordinary ecumenical reach far beyond what its compact form might suggest. Bell composed both text and tune (TAKE ME AS I AM) as a sung prayer of self-offering, intended for use as a meditative response or ostinato in corporate worship, modeled in part on the tradition of Taizé-style repeated song that the Iona Community had come to embrace as a vehicle for contemplative congregational prayer. Its brevity is intentional and theological: the text is designed to be sung multiple times, allowing the words to move from the lips to the heart through repetition rather than through narrative development across multiple stanzas. The song spread rapidly through ecumenical worship circles in the late 1990s and 2000s, carried by the broader influence of the Iona Community's liturgical renewal movement and Wild Goose Worship Group resources. It was taken up by campus ministries, retreat centers, hospital chaplaincies, and mainline congregations across the United Kingdom, North America, Australia, and beyond. Its appearance in numerous denominational hymnals — including Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006) and other Reformed, Methodist, and Anglican collections — cemented its status as a standard of contemporary ecumenical hymnody. The text's universality of address (no specific doctrinal vocabulary beyond 'seal upon my heart,' an allusion to Song of Songs and Pauline epistles) made it accessible across a wide theological spectrum. The tune TAKE ME AS I AM is also by Bell, composed in an unadorned, gently modal idiom that moves in a slow, lilting triple feel, inviting meditative repetition. It is typically sung a cappella or with minimal accompaniment, often in unison or simple two- to four-part harmony. The Wild Goose Resource Group and worship leaders worldwide have used it as a response following a sermon, an invitation to prayer, or a sung response at the font or table, giving it a liturgical flexibility that has contributed significantly to its longevity and widespread adoption.
Hymnal Appearances
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 816
- Glory to God — 698
- Lift Up Your Hearts — 524
Bulletin Note
Written by John L. Bell of the Iona Community (Scotland, 1995). This brief text is designed for meditative repetition and may be sung several times. It is a prayer of surrender and trust, drawing on the language of Song of Songs and Pauline indwelling theology.
Preaching Connection
This text makes an ideal sung response to any sermon exploring the theology of grace, baptismal identity, or divine call — it enacts in song what the sermon proclaims in word: that God's first move toward us is always acceptance, and that acceptance is always also an invitation into a future we could not construct for ourselves.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- The Definition & Command of Baptism Small Catechism — Holy Baptism
- Confession of Sin Small Catechism — Confession
Themes
self-surrender grace transformation divine indwelling baptismal identity vocation prayer Holy Spirit acceptance new creation contemplative worship sanctification