Desires
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 would have injured me,
that I have depreciated some of my chief mercies,
that I have erred both on the side of my hopes and also of my fears,
that I am unfit to choose for myself,
for it is not in me to direct my steps.
Let thy Spirit help my infirmities,
For I know not what to pray for as I ought.
—Valley of Vision
We are given a marvelous promise in the Scriptures: “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words,” (Rom. 8:26). This truth is magnified in the rich Puritan prayer, here, from the Valley of Vision. Beginning, ‘Teach me to pray,’ the supplicant confesses his shortcoming in both language and content of prayer, longing for the Lord’s intercession on his behalf, for correcting and apportioning grace. I so often can relate. Let us pray today, confessing our need of the Spirit’s leading in our prayers, confident in our God’s faithfulness to minister into our infirmities, and expectant of the Spirit’s intercession. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics