Prayer from the Valley of Vision, Arthur Bennett

[bonnie2]

Hey guys, this is really good, just wanted to share it with you!

"Crucifixion and Resurrection"
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 new life,
for I wish to be as dead and buried
to sin, to selfishness, to the world;
that I might not hear the voice of the charmer,
and might be delivered from his lusts.
O Lord, there is much ill about me- crucify it,
much flesh within me- mortify it.
Purge me from selfishness, the fear of man, the love of approbation,
the shame of being thought old fashioned,
the desire to be cultivated or modern.
Let me reckon my old life dead because of crucifixion,
and never feed it as a living thing.
Grant me to stand with my dying Saviour,
to be content to be rejected,
to be willing to take up unpopular truths,
and to hold fast despised teachings until death.
Help me to be resolute and Christ-contained.
Never let me wander from the path of obedience to thy will.
Strengthen me for the battles ahead.
Give me courage for all the trials, and grace for all the joys.
Help me to be a happy, holy person,
free from every wrong desire,
from everything contrary to thy mind.
Grant me more and more of the resurrection life;
may it rule me,
may I walk in its power, and be strengthened through its influence.

 

[Descyple]

Greetings Bonnie, thank you for posting this prayer. I had always heard the collection of Puritan prayers in the "Valley of Vision" were powerful, Christ-centered prayers, and after reading this one you posted, I know it to be true. I was recently thinking of purchasing the book, are the other prayers in the book just as meaningful?

In Christ, Matthew

 

[bonnie2]

Greetings Bonnie, thank you for posting this prayer. I had always heard the collection of Puritan prayers in the "Valley of Vision" were powerful, Christ-centered prayers, and after reading this one you posted, I know it to be true. I was recently thinking of purchasing the book, are the other prayers in the book just as meaningful?

In Christ, Matthew

Yes they are! You really should. I'm amazed by the kind of relationship Arthur Bennet had w/ God, it's even hard to pray his prayers and really mean them because I'm not there yet. But they are really...inspiring? I don't know if that is the right word lol. And thought-provoking.

 

[bonnie2]

Just to clarify, I was mistaken that Arthur Bennett wrote the prayers- they were actually written by Puritans, & edited by A. Bennett. Thanks Matthew!

 

[Descyple]

No problem Bonnie. I'm just glad you made this post so I could get a taste of the level of spirituality that's been spoken of concerning this book. I am a great admirer of Puritan writings from a theological perspective, and so I eagerly look forward to getting my own copy of "Valley of Vision" so as to experience the in-depth level their prayer lives operated at. Thank you again.

In Christ, Matthew

P.S. The man whose quote I use as my "signature" (Thomas Watson) was himself a 17th century Puritan!

 

[bonnie2]

Cool! That's a good quote.

 

[Descyple]

Here is another Puritan prayer from "The Valley of Vision"


Need of Grace

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,
and sense thy presence so little;

Thou makest me possess the sins of my youth,
and the dreadful sin of my nature,
so that I feel all sin,
I cannot think or act but every motion is sin.
Return again with showers of converting grace
to a poor gospel-abusing sinner.
Help my soul to breathe after holiness,
after a constant devotedness to thee,
after growth in grace more abundantly every day.

O Lord, I am lost in the pursuit of this blessedness,
And am ready to sink because I fall short of my desire;
Help me to hold out a little longer,
until the happy hour of deliverance comes,
for I cannot lift my soul to thee
if thou of thy goodness bring me not nigh.
Help me to be diffident, watchful, tender,
lest I offend my blessed Friend
in thought and behavior;
I confide in thee and lean upon thee,
and need thee at all times to assist and lead me.

O that all my distresses and apprehensions
might prove but Christ's school
to make me fit for greater service
by teaching me the great lesson of humility.

 

[Descyple]

Here is another meaningful Puritan prayer from "The Valley of Vision"

"Resting On God"

O God Most High, Most Glorious,
The thought of thine infinite serenity cheers me,
For I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed,
but thou art forever at perfect peace.
Thy designs cause thee no fear or care of unfulfilment,
they stand fast as the eternal hills.
Thy power knows no bond,
thy goodness no stint.
Thou bringest order out of confusion,
and my defeats are thy victories:
The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

I come to thee as a sinner with cares and sorrows,
to leave every concern entirely to thee,
every sin calling for Christ's precious blood;
Revive deep spirituality in my heart;
Let me live near to the great Shepherd,
hear his voice, know its tones, follow its calls.
Keep me from deception by causing me to abide in the truth,
from harm by helping me to walk in the power of the Spirit.

Give me intenser faith in the eternal verities,
burning into me by experience the things I know;
Let me never be ashamed of the truth of the gospel,
that I may bear its reproach, vindicate it,
see Jesus as its essence, know in it the power of the Spirit.
Lord, help me, for I am often lukewarm and chill;
unbelief mars my confidence, sin makes me forget thee.
Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut at their roots;
Grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to thee,
that all else is trifling.

Thy presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and happy.
Abide in me, gracious God.

 

[Descyple]

Here is another meaningful and humble Puritan prayer from "The Valley of Vision"

"The Broken Heart"

O Lord,
No day of my life has passed that has not proved me guilty in thy sight.
Prayers have been uttered from a prayerless heart;
Praise has been often praiseless sound;
My best services are filthy rags.
Blessed Jesus, let me find a covert in thy appeasing wounds.
Though my sins rise to heaven thy merits soar above them;
Though unrighteousness weighs me down to hell,
thy righteousness exalts me to thy throne.

All things in me call for my rejection,
All things in thee plead my acceptance.
I appeal from the throne of perfect justice
to thy throne of boundless grace.
Grant me to hear thy voice assuring me:
that by thy stripes I am healed,
that thou wast bruised for my iniquities,
that thou hast been made sin for me
that I might be righteous in thee,
that my grievous sins, my manifold sins,
are all forgiven,
buried in the ocean of thy concealing blood.

I am guilty, but pardoned,
lost, but saved,
wandering, but found,
sinning, but cleansed.
Give me perpetual broken-heartedness.
Keep me always clinging to thy cross.
Flood me every moment with descending grace.
Open to me the springs of divine knowledge,
sparkling like crystal,
flowing clear and unsullied
through my wilderness of life.

 

[Descyple]

"The Awakened Sinner"

O my forgetful soul,
Awake from thy wandering dream;
Turn from chasing vanities,
Look inward, forward, upward, view thyself,
Reflect upon thyself,
Who and what thou art, why here,
What thou must soon be.
Thou art a creature of God,
Formed and furnished by him,
Lodged in a body like a shepherd in his tent;
Dost thou not desire to know God's ways?

O God,
Thou injured, neglected, provoked Benefactor,
When I think upon thy greatness and thy goodness
I am ashamed at my insensibility,
I blush to lift up my face,
For I have foolishly erred.
Shall I go on neglecting thee,
When every one of thy rational creatures
Should love thee,
And take every care to please thee?
I confess that thou hast not been in all my thoughts,
That the knowledge of thyself as the end of my being
Has been strangely overlooked,
That I have never seriously considered my heart-need.

But although my mind is perplexed and divided,
My nature perverse,
Yet my secret dispositions still desire thee;
Break the fatal enchantment that binds my evil affections,
And bring me to a happy mind that rests in thee,
For thou hast made me and canst not forget me.

Let thy Spirit teach me the vital lessons of Christ,
For I am slow to learn;
And hear thou my broken cries.