Tuesday's Prayer

One leading author has said that those who reject using written prayers are like the woman who only wears dresses she has made herself. Originality is a good thing, but sometimes we are helped by the careful reflection of other saints who have put there prayers to pen. May this prayer from a Puritan hundreds of years ago be a tool God uses to deepen your heart today.

The Deeps

Lord Jesus,
Give me a deeper repentance,
a horror of sin
a dread of its approach;

Help me chastely to flee it,
and jealously to resolve that my heart
shall be thine alone.

Give me a deeper trust,
that I may lose myself to find myself in thee,
the ground of my rest,
the spring of my being.

Give me a deeper knowledge of thyself
as Saviour, Master, Lord, and King.

Give me deeper power in private prayer,
more sweetness in thy Word,
more steadfast grip on its truth.

Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action,
and let me not seek moral virtue apart from thee.

Plough deep in me, great Lord, heavenly Husbandman,
that my being may be a tilled field,
the roots of grace spreading far and wide,
until thou alone art seen in me,
thy beauty golden like summer harvest,
thy fruitfulness as autumn plenty.

I have no Master but thee,
no law but thy will,
no delight but thyself,
no wealth but that thou givest,
no good but that thou blessest,
no peace but that thou bestowest.

I am nothing but that thou makest me,
I have nothing but that I receive from thee,
I can be nothing but that grace adorns me.

Quarry me deep, dear Lord,
and then fill me to overflowing
with living water.

From The Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers and Devotions
(Available at Pursuits at Salem Alliance)

Comments

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Thank you ... for sometimes my mind wanders back to the sin I have left behind. Then I read these beautiful words and remember that " I have decided to follow Jesus..no turning back... no turning back..."

#1 Anonymous on 2010-01-12 07:35 (Reply)

Good morning John,

I used the prayer in your blog from yesterday in my morning devotions today. I am really fascinated with the part of the prayer that talks about relying on the spirit. I need to allow the spirit to speak in every word, direct every step, direct every step, and to give me a desire to show His praise, to testify His love and to advance His kingdom.

Trying to remember today that I am taller when I am on my knees!

Randall

#2 Randall Goree on 2010-01-12 07:47 (Reply)

Prayer is personal, it is so easy to recite someone elses prayer. I feel like i'm being lazy to bring my heart to Christ in earnest prayer when i read someone elses prayer. Is it wrong to to tell Christ I just don''t know what to pray about. I don't feel like praying. I don't want to pray just to pray if it is not in earnest and from the heart?

#3 Kevin Hennagir on 2010-01-12 08:59 (Reply)

Hi, Kevin,
I would never want a printed prayer to REPLACE our own prayers, but to enhance them. If all we're doing is "reciting" them, then we're just going through the motions and obviously I'd never encourage that. However, I'd encourage you to stay with this for the whole week, taking the time to weigh each phrase and then repeating it (or putting it in your own words) to God.

No, it's not wrong to tell Christ that you don't know what to pray about--he highly values honesty. Ironically though, you might find that a printed prayer prompts you to have something to pray about. Just a thought.

Press on in your pursuit of Him!

#3.1 John Stumbo on 2010-01-12 09:18 (Reply)

Kevin,

Thank you for your honesty and appreciate your willingness to share this. I have struggled with the idea of printed prayers, but am learning some great things during these past few days.

I kind of liken my prayer life to my love for officiating sports. During the game, it is awesome, fun, energetic, and challenging. What I don't like often is the training that I must continually do, meetings I must attend, rule books that I must continue to read and read and read...

I have moments in my prayer life that everything just flows. I then have moments where I don't want to pray, or take the time to pray as maybe there is something better to do. Having these printed prayers has helped me, stimulated my mind to realize there are things I need to pray for and continue to be in the habit of prayer. I sat down and re-wrote the prayer from yesterday. I wrote it in a way that spoke the way I do, and it gave me great encouragement and conviction to want to talk to God. He knows my heart and I want to make prayer a habit. As it is when I read the rules of basketball, I get better at them. In prayer, the more I do it, the more I enjoy that time and even when words aren't there, He provides guidance.

Randall

#3.2 Randall Goree on 2010-01-12 12:12 (Reply)

John,

I am finding these prayers so thought provoking and insightful. They are very poetic but not just for poetic sake, there is some real content. Heaven knows if I had to wear only clothes that I have made, I would look a sight! Praise God for those gifted writers from long ago that continue to teach and minister.

Dudster

#4 Annie Dudley on 2010-01-12 09:34 (Reply)

Thank you, John. Today's prayer did become my own!
Susan G.

#5 Anonymous on 2010-01-12 12:19 (Reply)

Another way I like to pray is to read a psalm a phrase at a time and after each phrase think about something in that vein to thank or ask God for. Like when David says, "The heavens declare your glory," I might be prompted to thank Him for that day's beautiful sunrise."

#7 Sue Miholer on 2010-01-12 17:36 (Reply)

Good morning John and Joanna! Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful prayers from others with us. Sometimes when I pray, I feel like I am just babbling on. Other times, I get a feeling all over my body that says wow! That was the Holy Spirit helping me along. These prayers, even though they are someone elses are also easy to make my own. They do help my thought process and while I was reading them was able to make them more personal by adding to it. I relate these prayers to my own life right now and it helped strengthen my prayer. Does that make sense? Well, anyway, thank you so much. This is just what I needed this week. My love to both of you always. My prayers for you and your family continue as we all get closer to seeing more of God's grace and love.

#8 Tammy Sheridan on 2010-01-13 07:43 (Reply)

i am in deep trouble if God views my orignial prayers like clothes i made myself!! i still shudder at the memories of 8th grade sewing class, homeEc, Monticello Jr. High.
thanks for these beautiful words. "give me a deeper trust" AMEN

#9 nece on 2010-01-14 23:12 (Reply)

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Tuesday, January 12. 2010

Tuesday's Prayer

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