Teach Me to Pray
O GOD OF THE OPEN EAR,
Teach me to live by prayer as well as by providence, for myself, soul, body, children, family, church; Give me a heart frameable to thy will; so might I live in prayer, and honour thee, being kept from evil, known and unknown.
Help me to see the sin that accompanies all I do, and the good I can distil from everything. Let me know that the work of prayer is to bring my will to thine, and that without this it is folly to pray;
When I try to bring thy will to mine it is to command Christ, to be above him, and wiser than he: this is my sin and pride, I can only succeed when I pray according to thy precept and promise, and to be done with as it pleases thee, according to thy sovereign will.
When thou commandest me to pray for pardon, peace, brokenness, it is because thou wilt give me the thing promised, for thy glory, as well as for my good. Help me not only to desire small things but with holy boldness to desire great things for thy people, for myself, that they and I might live to show thy glory.
Teach me that it is wisdom for me to pray for all I have, out of love, willingly, not of necessity; that I may come to thee at any time, to lay open my needs acceptably to thee;
That my great sin lies in my not keeping the savour of thy ways; that the remembrance of this truth is one way to the sense of thy presence; that there is no wrath like the wrath of being governed by my own lusts for my own ends.
—Valley of Vision
Prayer is more than a ritual—it is the shaping of our hearts to the will of God. This Puritan prayer reminds us that real prayer isn’t about getting our way; it’s about surrendering to His. When we try to bend God’s will to fit our own, we step into pride and lose the purpose of prayer altogether. But when we come in humility—seeking pardon, peace, and power not for our glory, but for His—we discover that God delights to answer. He gives not only what we ask for, but what we truly need.
This is the invitation: to live by prayer, not just in emergencies, but as a way of life—coming to God with boldness, honesty, and surrender. To see prayer as a privilege, not a burden. To lay down self-will and pick up trust. May this prayer become your own today—a pattern for your petitions, a confession for your soul, and a pathway into deeper communion with the God of the open ear. —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics