The Valley of Vision

Here is a remarkable prayer from the book "The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions."

O Heavenly Father,

Teach me to see

that if Christ has pacified thee and

has satisfied divine justice

he can also deliver me from my sins;

that Christ does not desire me, now justified,

to live in self-confidence in my own strength,

but gives me the law of the Spirit of life

to enable me to obey thee;

that the Spirit and his power are mine

by resting on Christ's death;

that the Spirit of life within answers to

the law without;

that if I sin not I should thank thee for it;

that if I sin I should be humbled daily under it;

that I should mourn for sin more than other

men do,

for when I see I shall die because of sin,

that makes me mourn;

when I see how sin strikes at thee,

that makes me mourn;

when I see that sin caused Christ's death

that makes me mourn;

that sanctification is the evidence of reconciliation,

proving that faith has truly apprehended Christ;

Thou has taught me

that faith is nothing else than receiving thy

kindness;

that it is an adherence to Christ, a resting on him,

love clinging to him as a branch to the tree

to seek life and vigour from him.

I thank thee for showing me the vast difference

between knowing things by reason,

and knowing them by the spirit of faith.

By reason I see a thing is so;

by faith I know it as it is.

I have seen thee by reason and have not

been amazed,

I have seen thee as thou art in thy Son and have

been ravished to behold thee.

I bless thee that I am thine in my Saviour,

Jesus.

Regeneration

I have a little book called "The Valley of Vision". It's a collection of prayers written by Puritans and it is one of the most helpful tools for me in my ongoing effort to stoke the furnace of personal devotion.

I've copied here a prayer from it, called Regeneration, that I read yesterday and it fed me on many levels. It seems to me to be a prayer worth camping out on for a while. It strikes many chords that resonate with me in this particular time of my life.

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, favoured, clothed, adorned me, when I was worthless, vile, soiled, polluted.

I was dead in iniquities, having no eyes to see thee, no ears 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.

You could order one at Amazon if you want.