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 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
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.
—Valley of Vision
I pray this puritan prayer is as much a blessing to your heart as it is to mine. I encourage you to pray through this, making it your own heart’s cry, line by line. Notice the pattern as you pray—confession and the openness to ask God to shine His light within us; a plea for the sweet ‘kiss’ of forgiveness, a plea for God’s deliverance and restoration; and choruses praising God’s love. May this prayer be instructive; might our prayer life’s intimacy with God resonate more deeply for it. And everybody says … AMEN! —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics