My Heart's Prayer

Regeneration

O God, of the highest heaven,

Occupy the throne of my heart,

take full possession and reign supreme,

lay low every rebel lust,

let no vile passion resist Thy holy war;

manifest Thy mighty power,

and make me Thine forever.

Thou art worthy to be

praised with my every breath,

loved with my every faculty of soul,

served with my every act of life.

Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me,

purchased, washed, favored, clothed,

adorned me,

when I was worthless, vile, soiled, polluted.

I was dead in iniquities,

having no eyes to see Thee,

no ear to hear Thee,

no taste to relish Thy joys,

no intelligence to know Thee;

BUT Thy Spirit has quickened me,

has brought me into a new world as a new creature,

has given me spiritual perception,

has opened to me Thy Word as light, guide, solace, joy.

Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace;

no provocation can part me from Thy sympathy,

for Thou hast drawn me with cords of love,

and dost forgive me daily, hourly.

O help me then to walk worthy of Thy love,

of my hopes, and my vocation.

Keep me, for I cannot keep myself;

Protect me that no evil befall me;

Let me lay aside every sin admired of many;

Help me to walk by Thy side, lean on Thy arm,

hold converse with Thee,

That henceforth I may be salt of the earth

and a blessing to all.

~ a prayer from the Valley of Vision

A Christmas Prayer

The Gift of Gifts

O Source of All Good,

What shall I render to thee for the gift of gifts, thine own dear Son, begotten, not created,

my Redeemer, proxy, surety, substitute,

his self-emptying incomprehensible,

his infinity of love beyond the heart's grasp.

Herein is wonder of wonders:

he came below to raise me above,

was born like me that I might become like him.

Herein is love:

when I cannot rise to Him he draws near on wings of grace,

to raise me to himself.

Herein in power:

when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart

he united them in indissoluble unity,

the uncreated and the created.

Herein is wisdom:

when I was undone, with no will to return to him,

and no intellect to devise recovery,

he came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost,

as man to die my death,

to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,

to work out a perfect righteousness for me.

O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds, and enlarge my mind;

let me hear good tidings of great joy,

and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, adore,

my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,

my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father;

place me with ox, ass, camel, and goat,

to look with them upon my Redeemer's face,

and in him account myself delivered from my sin;

let me with Simeon clasp the new-born Child to my heart,

embrace him with undying faith,

exulting that he is mine and I am his.

In him thou hast given me so much

that heaven can give no more.

~prayer from the Valley of Vision

The Great God

The Great God

O Fountain of All Good,

Destroy in me every lofty thought,

Break pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds,

Annihilate each clinging shred of self-righteousness,

Implant in me true lowliness of spirit,

Abase me to self-loathing and self-abhorrence,

Open in me a fount of penitential tears,

Break me, then bind me up;

Thus will my heart be a prepared dwelling for my God;

Then can the Father take up his abode in me,

Then can the blessed Jesus come with healing in his touch,

Then can the Holy Spirit descend in sanctifying grace;

O Holy Trinity, three Persons and one God,

Inhabit me, a temple consecrated to thy glory.

When Thou art present, evil cannot abide;

In thy fellowship is fullness of joy,

Beneath thy smile is peace of conscience,

By thy side no fears disturb,

No apprehensions banish rest of mind,

With thee my heart shall bloom with fragrance;

Make me meet, through repentence, for thine dwelling.

Nothing exceeds thy power,

Nothing is too great for thee to do,

Nothing too good for thee to give.

Infinite is thy might, boundless thy love,

Limitless thy grace, glorious thy saving name.

Let angels sing for

sinners repenting,

prodigals restored,

backsliders reclaimed,

Satan's captives released,

blind eyes opened,

broken hearts bound up,

the despondent cheered,

the self-righteous stripped,

the formalist driven from a refuge of lies,

the ignorant enligtened,

and saints built up in their holy faith.

I ask great things of a great God.

~from the Valley of Vision

Be encouraged, child of God. He is able to do above all we can imagine.

My Prayer Today

God All Sufficient

O, Lord of Grace,

The world is before me this day,

and I am weak and fearful,

but I look to thee for strength;

If I venture forth alone I stumble and fall,

but on the Beloved's arms I am firm

as the eternal hills;

If left to the treachery of my heart

I shall shame thy Name,

but if enlightened, guided, upheld by they Spirit,

I shall bring thee glory.

Be thou my arm to support,

by strength to stand,

my light to see,

my feet to run,

by shield to protect,

by sword to repel,

my sun to warm.

To enrich me will not diminish thy fullness;

All they lovingkindness is in thy Son,

I bring him to thee in the arms of faith,

I urge his saving Name as the One who died for me.

I plead his blood to pay my debts of wrong.

Accept his worthiness for my unworthiness,

his sinlessness for my transgressions,

his purity for my uncleanness,

his sincerity for my guile,

his truth for my deceits,

his meekness for my pride,

his constancy for my backslidings,

his love for my enmity,

his fullness for my emptiness,

his faithfulness for my treachery,

his obedience for my lawlessness,

his glory for my shame,

his devotedness for my waywardness,

his holy life for my unchaste ways,

his righteousness for my dead works,

his death for my life.

This is a prayer from, Valley of Vision.

This is my prayer today as I face very uncertain feelings, thoughts and desires.

May I keep my face towards the Son and my feet towards His Kingdom.