There’s an old song I remember singing in church as a kid. Maybe you do too. It goes:
“Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary,
Pure and holy, tried and true.
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for You.”
I can still hear the echo of those slow, heartfelt notes bouncing off the church walls while the pianist played the piano like it owed her money.
But I’ll be honest—as a kid, I don’t think I had a clue what I was actually singing. Sanctuary? Like... the room we’re in? The one with the questionable carpet color and the smell of coffee and old hymnals?
Turns out, nope. That’s not the sanctuary the song’s talking about.
We Are the Sanctuary
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 clears this up real quick:
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."
You and I—we’re the sanctuary. Not the brick building with the cross on the wall. Not the one with the busted AC and the chair that squeaks every time you sit down.
The Spirit of God doesn’t dwell in drywall and stained glass. He dwells in us. The moment we surrendered our lives to Jesus, He made His home in us. That means your life, your heart, your everyday, is now sacred space.
Let’s Break Down the Lyrics
“Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary…”
This is a prayer of preparation. A cry that says, “God, I don’t have it all together, but I want to be a place where You’re welcome. Where You can move, speak, and work.”
That’s not a one-time prayer either. It’s a daily kind of thing. Because some days, we’re more like a noisy marketplace than a peaceful sanctuary.
“…pure and holy…”
That’s a tall order. But here’s the thing—God doesn’t call us to be perfect in our own strength. Purity and holiness don’t come from following a checklist. They come from being close to Him. 2 Timothy 2:21 says:
"Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house."
God's the one who does the purifying. We just have to be willing to let Him work on our hearts—even the messy parts we’d rather keep tucked away in the back closet.
“…tried and true…”
Life has a way of testing us, doesn’t it? You don’t become “tried and true” overnight. It comes through the hard stuff—the waiting, the heartbreak, the unknowns.
But even in those moments, we’re not alone. James 1:12 reminds us:
"Blessed is the one who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life."
God uses the trials to shape us. To refine us. To prove that our faith isn’t just a Sunday morning thing—it’s the real deal.
". . .a living sanctuary. . . "
The last line of the song says, “With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for You.”
That part always hits me.
Because being a “living sanctuary” isn’t about sitting still and looking holy. It’s about living—in Target, at the dinner table, in traffic, when your kids spills juice for the fifth time this morning—it’s about being a place where Jesus is seen, felt, and heard through us.
And we do it with thanksgiving.
Even when life’s crazy. Even when the answers haven’t come yet. Even when we’re still in progress. Gratitude is what keeps our hearts tender and our perspective clear.
So here’s the encouragement. You don’t have to be perfect to be a sanctuary. You just have to be willing.
God's not looking for a flawless building. He’s looking for a humble heart.
Let Him prepare you. Let Him purify you. Let Him work in the trials.
And let Him shine through your life—because someone else might need the peace that’s living inside you.
So yeah, that old song? It was a pretty deep prayer for a bunch of kids to be singing. But maybe that’s the beauty of it.
Even when we didn’t fully understand it—we were asking for the right thing all along.
