I Ask Great Things of a Great God
O FOUNTAIN OF ALL GOOD,
Destroy in me every lofty thought,
Break pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds,
Annihilate each clinging shred of self-righteousness,
Implant in me true lowliness of spirit,
Abase me to self-loathing and self-abhorrence,
Open in me a fount of penitential tears,
Break me, then bind me up;
Thus will my heart be a prepared dwelling for my God;
Then can the Father take up his abode in me,
Then can the blessed Jesus come with healing in his touch,
Then can the Holy Spirit descend in sanctifying grace;
O Holy Trinity, three Persons and one God, inhabit me, a temple consecrated to thy glory;
When thou art present, evil cannot abide;
In thy fellowship is fullness of joy,
Beneath thy smile is peace of conscience,
By thy side no fears disturb, no apprehensions banish rest of mind,
With thee my heart shall bloom with fragrance;
Make me meet, through repentance, for thine indwelling.
Nothing exceeds thy power,
Nothing is too great for thee to do,
Nothing too good for thee to give.
Infinite is thy might, boundless thy love, limitless thy grace, glorious thy saving name.
Let angels sing for the sinners repenting,
and prodigals restored,
the backsliders reclaimed,
Satan’s captives released,
blind eyes opened,
broken hearts bound up,
the despondent cheered the self-righteous stripped,
the formalist driven from a refuge of lies,
the ignorant enlightened,
and saints built up in their holy faith.
I ask great things of a great God.
—Dennis Kinlaw,
—Dennis Kinlaw, This Day with the Master
This Puritan prayer is no mere recital—it’s a cry of the soul, a powerful invitation to be remade from the inside out. It begins with brokenness and ends with glory, calling us to lay down every shred of pride and self-reliance so that we may become a dwelling place for the living God. When we pray like this, we are asking not for small improvements, but for total transformation—where repentance makes room for joy, and humility becomes the doorway to divine presence.
If your heart is heavy or your spirit dry today, adopt this prayer as your own. Make it your heart’s cry. Ask God to break what must be broken, and to bind you up with mercy and power. The same God who restores prodigals, cheers the despondent, and opens blind eyes is ready to inhabit you. Ask great things of this great God—He delights to answer the humble and fill the empty with His fullness. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics