Brother Charles of Jesus

Warning: This story ends with a very biblical prayer that you may be afraid to say aloud. Faint hearts and faltering faith should proceed no farther. You have been warned.

Charles de Foucauld began his life in France, but his lifestyle would have seemed very familiar to many present day Americans. Born into wealth and aristocracy, he lived out his youth among the privileged elite. He was only six years old when his parents died, leaving him a fortune which he learned as a young man to lavish freely on wine, foie gras, and willing women. Needless to say, he completely abandoned his Catholic upbringing and embraced the life of a playboy and soldier of fortune.

In 1886 at the age of 28, he personally encountered Jesus Christ for the first time in his young life. That supernatural moment would dramatically change his life forever.

He followed the call of Christ to become a monk, but soon discovered that even the most severe order of monasterial life was not challenging enough. He eventually renounced his family fortune, gave it all away, and ultimately retreated to North Africa to live among the Touareg tribesmen there. Temperatures in the Sahara Desert could rise to 120 degrees Fahrenheit by day, and dip below freezing at night. For fifteen years, this amazing man made this place his home and these people his mission field. He shared their poverty, worked alongside them in manual labor, evangelized them, led them in worship, and translated the New Testament into the Touareg language. These simple people he served began to call him Brother Charles of Jesus.

His earthly life was cut short at the age of 58 when he was murdered by bandits from a fanatical Muslim sect. Today he is celebrated for his life of surrender. And he is remembered for his prayer of "self abandonment." Will you dare to pray it for yourself?

"Father, I abandon myself into your hands/ Do with me what you will/ Whatever you do, I will thank you/ I am ready for all, I accept all/ Let only your will be done in me as in all your creatures/ And I'll ask nothing else, my Lord.

"Into your hands I commend my spirit/ I give it to you with all the love of my heart/ For I love you, Lord and so need to give myself/ To surrender myself into your hands with a trust beyond all measure, because you are my Father."

Someday we'll meet this guy in Heaven. Imagine standing beside him when the awards for sacrifice are being passed out. How many of us will be able to look him in the eye and say with honesty, "I finally got the courage to pray your prayer?"