WEAKNESSES
O SPIRIT OF GOD,
Help my infirmities;
When I am pressed down
with a load of sorrow,
perplexed and knowing not what to do,
slandered and persecuted,
made to feel the weight of the cross,
help me, I pray thee.
If thou seest in me
any wrong thing encouraged,
any evil desire cherished,
any delight that is not thy delight,
any habit that grieves thee,
any nest of sin in my heart,
then grant me the kiss of thy forgiveness,
and teach my feet to walk the way of
thy commandments.
Deliver me from carking care,
And make me a happy, holy person;
Help me to walk the separated life with
firm and brave step,
and to wrestle successfully
against weakness;
Teach me to laud,
adore, and magnify thee,
with the music of heaven,
And make me a perfume
of praiseful gratitude to thee.
I do not crouch at thy feet
as a slave before a tyrant,
but exult before thee
as a son with a father.
Give me power to live
as thy child in all my actions,
and to exercise sonship
by conquering self.
Preserve me from the intoxication
that comes of prosperity;
Sober me when I am glad with a joy
that comes not from thee.
Lead me safely
on to the eternal kingdom,
not asking whether the road
be rough or smooth.
I request only to see the face of him I love,
to be content with bread to eat,
with raiment to put on,
if I can be brought to thy house in peace.
This is an excerpt from the book Valley of Vision by Arthur Bennett.
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