Need of Grace
O LORD,br
Thou knowest my great
unfitness for service,
my present deadness,
my inability to do anything for thy glory,
my distressing coldness of heart.
I am weak, ignorant, unprofitable,
and loathe and abhor myself.
I am at a loss to know
what thou wouldest have me do,
for I feel amazingly deserted by thee,
and sense thy presence so little;
Thou makest me possess
the sins of my youth.
And the dreadful sin of my nature,
so that I feel all sin,
I cannot think or act
but every motion is sin.
Return again with showers of
converting grace to a
poor gospel-abusing sinner.
Help my soul to breathe after holiness,
after a constant devotedness to thee,
after growth in grace more abundantly every day.
O Lord, I am lost
in the pursuit of this blessedness,
and I am ready to sink
because I fall short of my desire;
Help me to hold out a little longer,
until the happy hour of deliverance comes,
for I cannot lift my soul to thee
if thou of thy goodness bring me not nigh.
Help me to be diffident, watchful, tender,
lest I offend my blessed Friend
in thought and behaviour;
I confide in thee and lean upon thee,
and need thee at all times
to assist and lead me.
O that all my distresses and apprehensions,
might prove but Christ’s school
to make me fit for a greater cause
by teaching me the great lesson of humility.
—Henri J. M. Nouwen
The Spiritual Life
If you’ve noticed anything of these Puritan Prayers from the Valley of Vision, it’s that they pull no punches, offer no window-dressing; just cut to the core honesty, confession of our depravity and want of holiness. Ouch! But it’s a holy sting, these prayers of brokenness, a means of coming clean, owning our shortcoming, calling sin sin, that becomes effectual prayer. When we ‘come clean,’ our God keeps His promise to make us clean, as 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Let us pray this prayer today (and often) as a means of satisfying our soul’s longing in His cleansing love. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics