Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days;
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

These lines have been sung and echoed in many hearts since they were first written over 100 years ago. Today we will look at the life of the author. Her name is well-known in the world of hymn writers: Frances Ridley Havergal.

Miss Havergal was the sixth child of William and Jane Havergal. The Havergal family lived in Worcestershire, England. Because the father was the rector (or pastor) of Astley Church, the family lived in the rectory that overlooked lush trees and verdant gardens on the property grounds. It was there that Miss Havergal was reared, along with her three sisters and two brothers. 

As a student, she advanced quickly in all her studies, including music and poetry. Her upbringing was in a thoroughly Christian home, where the name of Jesus was honored and God’s Word was instilled into the hearts of the Havergal children. However, Miss Havergal apparently did not personally trust in Christ for salvation during her youth. 

She was a happy child, but she also lacked the true joy of salvation. When she was only eleven, her mother passed away. The little girl shed bitter, mournful tears. In later years she wrote of that time, “I did not at all expect her departure, and shut my ears in a very hardened way to those who tried to prepare me for it; so when it came I was not ready, and there was nothing but bitterness in it to me. I did not, would not, see God’s hand in it, and the stroke left me worse than it found me.”

Young Miss Havergal experienced the truth that all have felt at one time or another—that trials will wreck a person rather than strengthen one if his or her trust is not in the Lord. For three years the motherless daughter struggled spiritually. She knew the sinfulness of her soul and her need for forgiveness. But would Jesus grant her forgiveness? On and on, Miss Havergal battled her doubts and fears. 

At last, one day a kind friend named Caroline Cooke asked her, “Why cannot you trust yourself to your Savior at once? Supposing that now, at this moment, Christ were to come in the clouds of heaven, . . . Could you not commit your soul to Him, to your Saviour, Jesus?”

Suddenly, Miss Havergal realized what her friend was saying. She responded, “I could, surely,” and on her knees by her bed that day, she found the Savior Whom she came to love! “Then and there,” she wrote of her conversion, “I committed my soul to the Saviour. . . . I did trust in the Lord Jesus.” 

From then on, the young woman’s life took a different turn. Her talent for music and poetry flowed as a stream of praise to her Master and King—two names of Jesus that she especially cherished and brought often into her writing. Miss Havergal wrote a series of devotional books titled The Five Royal Books. The Royal series includes the titles My King, The Royal Invitation, and Royal Commandments. Her music and works evidenced her special desire to see lost souls come to Christ for salvation and to see Christians live wholeheartedly for Him.

The hymn “Take My Life, and Let It Be” by Miss Havergal is a series of lines which encourages believers to give every area of their life to Jesus. The hymn was born one night as Miss Havergal lay awake. She later noted that these little “couplets” formed in her heart and “chimed one after another.” She set the words to a tune called “Patmos,” that was written by her father, William Havergal. This tune pairs beautifully with her little “Consecration Hymn,” as Miss Havergal called it. The following are the other stanzas of this hymn.

Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only, for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold;
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every power as Thou shalt choose,
Every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own;
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love; my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.

Another beloved hymn written by Miss Havergal is “Like a River Glorious.” She dictated this hymn from her bed; at the time, she suffered from an illness so severe that she was unable to write. Other famous hymns she wrote include “Golden Harps Are Sounding,” “I Gave My Life for Thee,” “I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,” and “Who Is on the Lord’s Side?”

Miss Havergal did not just sit in her study and write poetry all day. Many of her poems came to her in a moment when she was doing something entirely different. For example, “Golden Harps Are Sounding” was scribbled on the back of an envelope as she leaned on a wall outdoors!

An active person, Miss Havergal loved to travel. She even hiked and climbed in the snowy Swiss Alps! She also enjoyed conversations with many kinds of people, both rich and poor—and she was always eager to speak of Jesus to those who would listen. On one occasion, Miss Havergal literally gave away her jewelry to support the cause of Christ Jesus, her Master.

She had a close relationship with her father, especially so after the death of her mother. Her father was a writer of music, hymns, and prose too, and he was a faithful pastor, devoted to the people in his church and the surrounding areas. He would walk great lengths to visit the poor people in their villages, praying with them, reading the Bible to them, and explaining the Gospel to them. Miss Havergal surely must have learned from her father to put the Lord’s work first in her life and to care for the needs of others.

A special time for the Havergal family was when her father remarried. His daughter Frances very happily approved of the match, for the lady of his choice was none other than Miss Caroline Cooke—the very one who had prompted her to fully place her trust in the Lord! Miss Havergal’s stepmother was very loving toward her, and she called her “Mother” for the rest of her life.

Although Miss Havergal herself never married, she dearly loved her nieces and nephews, and she strived to be a Godly example to them. For children, she wrote two little books titled Morning Bells and Little Pillows. The former book gives children a verse to think about each day when they awaken in the morning, and the latter book gives a verse for them to consider as they go to bed at night.

Miss Havergal passed away at the age of forty-two. Rather than sorrowing at her life being cut short, she rejoiced at the prospect of “seeing the King in His beauty.” Although brief, her life was fruitful. Today, we reap the benefits that flowed from a life truly consecrated to the Master’s use.

Sources and Further Reference:

Havergal, Maria Vernon Graham. Memorials of Frances Ridley Havergal. London, UK: James Nisbet and Company, 1880.
Bugden, Pamela D. Ever, Only, All for Thee. Hannibal, MO: Granted Ministries Press, 2009.