A Puritan Prayer

O God of the highest heaven,

Occupy the throne of my heart,

         take full possession and reign supreme,

   lay low every rebel lust,

   let no vile passion resist thy holy war;

   manifest thy mighty power,

     and make me thine for ever.

Thou art worthy to be

   praised with my every breath,

   loved with my every faculty of soul,

   served with my every act of life.

Thou hast loved me, espoused me, received me,

   purchased, washed, favoured, clothed,

     adorned me,

   when I was worthless, vile, soiled, polluted.

I was dead in iniquities,

   having no eyes to see thee,

   no ears to hear thee,

   no taste to relish thy joys,

   no intelligence to know thee;

But thy Spirit has quickened me,

   has brought me into a new world as a

     new creature,

   has given me spiritual perception,

   has opened to me thy Word as light, guide,

     solace, joy.

Thy presence is to me a treasure of unending peace;

No provocation can part me from thy sympathy,

   for thou hast drawn me with cords of love,

   and dost forgive me daily, hourly.

O help me then to walk worthy of thy love,

   of my hopes, and my vocation.

Keep me, for I cannot keep myself;

Protect me that no evil befall me;

Let me lay aside every sin admired of many;

Help me to walk by thy side, lean on thy arm,

   hold converse with thee,

That henceforth I may be salt of the earth

   and a blessing to all.

From The Valley of Vision, Published by the Banner of Truth Trust, page 47