Reliance
MY FATHER,
When thou art angry towards me for my wrongs
I try to pacify thee by abstaining from future sin:
But teach me that I cannot satisfy thy law,
that this effort is a resting in my righteousness,
that only Christ’s righteousness, ready-made,
already finished, is fit for that purpose;
that thy chastising me for my sin is not
that I should try to reform, but only
that I may be more humbled, afflicted,
and separated from sin, by being reconciled,
and made righteous in Christ by faith;
that a sense of my sufficiency and ability
in him is one means of my being immovable;
that I can never be so by resting on my own faith,
but by trusting in thee as my only support, by faith;
that if I cast away my faith I cast away thee,
for by faith I apprehend thee.
And as thou art very precious,
so is my faith very precious to me;
that I fall short of the purity thou requirest,
because in thinking I am holy I do not
seek holiness,
or believing I am impotent, I do no more.
Humble me for not being as holy as I should be,
or as holy as I might be through Christ,
for thou art all, and to possess thee
is to possess all.
But to make the creature something
is to make it stand between thee and me,
so that I do not walk humbly and holily.
Lord, forgive me for this.
—Valley of Vision
Another of the marvelous Puritan prayers, we’re given a model devotional prayer; may this be our heart’s attitude each time we step out of the day’s rush for a quiet time of refreshment with our Lord! This begins as a confession of my attempts to “rest in my own righteousness,” and an admission of the folly in this. It moves into a lament, in recognition of our shortcoming, to a plea for forgiveness. No sugar coating, this prayer is straight to the point, blunt and honest. Pray from your heart! I pray this centuries old prayer will be a blessing to your prayer life today. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics