Prayer Mentoring from The Valley of Vision

One of the best ways to learn to pray is by listening to people pray who know how to pray – who know how to connect with God. There is a great book called The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions that is very instructive. Here is one of the prayers in the collection. I would encourage you to read it once and then go back and pray it as if it were your own. Make note of how different this prayer is from the ones we are used to hearing… or praying ourselves.

O GOD OF MY DELIGHT,
Thy throne of grace is the pleasure ground of my soul.
Here I obtain mercy in time of need,
here see the smile of thy reconciled face,
here joy pleads the name of Jesus,
here I sharpen the sword of the Spirit,
anoint the shield of faith,
put on the helmet of salvation,
gather manna from thy Word,
am strengthened for each conflict,
nerved for the upward race,
empowered to conquer every foe;
Help me to come to Christ
as the fountain head of descending blessings,
as a wide open flood-gate of mercy.
I marvel at my insensate folly,
that with such enriching favors within my reach
I am slow to extend the hand to take them.
Have mercy upon my deadness for thy Name’s sake.
Quicken me, stir me, fill me with holy zeal.
Strengthen me that I may cling to thee and not let thee go.
May thy Spirit within me draw all blessings from thy hand.
When I advance not, I backslide.
Let me walk humbly because of good omitted and evil done.
Impress on my mind the shortness of time,
the work to be engaged in,
the account to be rendered,
the nearness of eternity,
the fearful sin of despising thy Spirit.
May I never forget that thy eye always sees,
thy ear always hears,
thy recording hand always writes.
May I never give thee rest until Christ is the pulse of my heart;
the spokesman of my lips,
the lamp of my feet.

My Comments: What a prayer. Every sentence is worth pondering the implications should they turn in to answered prayer. I’ve highlighted a few lines that really jumped off the page at me as I thought them through – though all of them are staggering to my soul. I hope this prayer grips you as it does me and drives you to want to learn to pray even “mo bettuh”.

I’m just sayin’!