Devotionals: The Valley of Vision

O LORD, I marvel that thou shouldst become incarnate,     be crucified, dead, and buried. The sepulchre calls forth my adoring wonder,   for it is empty and thou art risen;   the four-fold gospel attests it,   the living witnesses prove it,   my heart’s experience knows it. Give me to die with thee that I may rise to […]

O LORD, I am a shell full of dust,     but animated with an invisible rational soul     and made anew by an unseen power of grace; Yet I am no rare object of valuable price,   but one that has nothing and is nothing,   although chosen of thee from eternity,   given to Christ, and born again; I […]

LORD JESUS, I sin — Grant that I may     never cease grieving because of it,     never be content with myself,     never think I can reach a point of perfection. Kill my envy, command my tongue,   trample down self. Give me grace to be holy, kind, gentle, pure,   peaceable,     to live for thee and not for […]

O LORD, Help me to approach thee         with becoming conception of thy nature,   relations and designs. Thou inhabitest eternity, and   my life is nothing before thee; Thou dwellest in the highest heaven and   this cannot contain thee;     I live in a house of clay. Thy power is almighty;     I am crushed before the moth. Thy […]

O THOU THAT HEAREST PRAYER, Teach me to pray.         I confess that in religious exercises   the language of my lips and the feelings     of my heart have not always agreed,   that I have frequently taken carelessly upon     my tongue a name never pronounced above       without reverence and humility,   that I have often desired things which […]

O LORD, Whose power is infinite and wisdom infallible,       Order things that they may neither hinder,     nor discourage me,     nor prove obstacles to the progress of thy cause; Stand between me and all strife, that no evil befall,     no sin corrupt my gifts, zeal, attainments; May I follow duty and not any foolish device     of […]

GOD OF MY END, It is my greatest, noblest pleasure     to be acquainted with thee     and with my rational, immortal soul; It is sweet and entertaining   to look into my being   when all my powers and passions   are united and engaged in pursuit of thee,   when my soul longs and passionately breathes   after conformity to […]

GOD OF THE PUBLICAN, Be merciful to me a sinner;       this I am by nature and practice,     this thy Word proclaims me to be,     this I hope I feel myself to be; Yet thou hast not left me to despair,   for there is no ‘peradventure’ in thy grace; I have all the assurance I need […]

O DIVINE LAWGIVER, I take shame to myself     for open violations to thy law,   for my secret faults,   my omissions of duty,   my unprofitable attendance     upon means of grace,   my carnality in worshipping thee,   and all the sins of my holy things. My iniquities are increased over my head: My trespasses are known in the […]

MY FATHER, When thou art angry towards me for my         wrongs I try to pacify thee by abstaining from future sin; But teach me   that I cannot satisfy thy law,   that this effort is a resting in my righteousness,   that only Christ’s righteousness, ready made,     already finished, is fit for that purpose;   that thy chastising […]

O LIVING GOD, I bless thee       that I see the worst of my heart as well as     the best of it,   that I can sorrow for those sins that carry me     from thee,   that it is thy deep and dear mercy to threaten     punishment so that I may return, pray, live. My sin is to […]

THOU GREAT I AM, I acknowledge and confess that all things     come of thee —   life, breath, happiness, advancement,   sight, touch, hearing,   goodness, truth, beauty –   all that makes existence amiable. In the spiritual world also I am dependent     entirely upon thee. Give me grace to know more of my need of grace; Show me […]

GLORIOUS JEHOVAH, MY COVENANT GOD, All thy promises in Christ Jesus are       yea and amen, and all shall be fulfilled. Thou hast spoken them, and they shall be done,   commanded, and they shall come to pass. Yet I have often doubted thee,   have lived at times as if there were no God. Lord, forgive me […]

O LORD, Thou knowest my great unfitness for service,       my present deadness,       my inability to do anything for thy glory,       my distressing coldness of heart. I am weak, ignorant, unprofitable,   and loathe and abhor myself. I am at a loss to know what thou wouldest     have me do,   for I feel amazingly deserted by thee, […]

FATHER OF JESUS, Dawn returns, but without thy light within       no outward light can profit; Give me the saving lamp of thy Spirit that I may     see thee,   the God of my salvation, the delight of my soul,   rejoicing over me in love. I commend my heart to thy watchful care,   for I know its […]