Devotionals: The Valley of Vision

O LORD OF THE OCEANS, My little bark sails on a restless sea, Grant that Jesus may sit at the helm and steer me safely; Suffer no adverse currents to divert my heavenward course; Let not my faith be wrecked amid storms and shoals; Bring me to harbour with flying pennants, hull unbreached, cargo unspoiled. […]

O THOU MOST HIGH, In the way of thy appointment I am waiting for thee, My desire is to thy name, My mind to remembrance of thee. I am a sinner, but not insensible of my state. My iniquities are great and numberless, but thou art adequate to my relief, for thou art rich in […]

LORD OF THE CLOUD AND FIRE, I am a stranger, with a stranger’s indifference; My hands hold a pilgrim’s staff, My march is Zionward, My eyes are toward the coming of the Lord, My heart is in thy hands without reserve. Thou hast created it, redeemed it, renewed it, captured it, conquered it. Keep from […]

O LORD, The world is artful to entrap, approaches in fascinating guise, extends many a gilded bait, presents many a charming face. Let my faith scan every painted bauble, and escape every bewitching snare in a victory that overcomes all things. In my duties give me firmness, energy, zeal, devotion to thy cause, courage in […]

O THOU THAT HEAREST PRAYER, Teach me to pray. I confess that in religious exercises the language of my lips and the feelings of my heart have not always agreed, that I have frequently taken carelessly upon my tongue a name never pronounced above without reverence and humility, that I have often desired things which […]

O GOD, Though I am allowed to approach thee I am not unmindful of my sins, I do not deny my guilt, I confess my wickedness, and earnestly plead forgiveness. May I with Moses choose affliction rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin. Help me to place myself always under thy guiding and guardian care, […]

THOU GREAT I AM, Fill my mind with elevation and grandeur at the thought of a Being with whom one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day, A mighty God, who, amidst the lapse of worlds, and the revolutions of empires, feels no variableness, but is glorious in immortality. […]

O SPIRIT OF GOD, Help my infirmities; When I am pressed down with a load of sorrow, perplexed and knowing not what to do, slandered and persecuted, made to feel the weight of the cross, help me, I pray thee. If thou seest in me any wrong thing encouraged, any evil desire cherished, any delight […]

LORD JESUS, I am blind, be thou my light, ignorant, be thou my wisdom, self-willed, be thou my mind. Open my ear to grasp quickly thy Spirit’s voice, and delightfully run after his beckoning hand; Melt my conscience that no hardness remain, make it alive to evil’s slightest touch; When Satan approaches may I flee […]

SOVEREIGN COMMANDER OF THE UNIVERSE, I am sadly harassed by doubts, fears, unbelief, in a felt spiritual darkness. My heart is full of evil surmisings and disquietude, and I cannot act faith at all. My heavenly Pilot has disappeared, and I have lost my hold on the Rock of Ages; I sink in deep mire […]

O LORD GOD, Thou art my protecting arm, fortress, refuge, shield, buckler. Fight for me and my foes must flee; Uphold me and I cannot fall; Strengthen me and I stand unmoved, unmoveable; Equip me and I shall receive no wound; Stand by me and Satan will depart; Anoint my lips with a song of […]

O LORD, 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, […]

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 […]

INCOMPREHENSIBLE, GREAT, AND GLORIOUS GOD, I adore thee and abase myself. I approach thee mindful that I am less than nothing, a creature worse than nothing. My thoughts are not screened from thy gaze. My secret sins blaze in the light of thy countenance. Enable me to remember that blood which cleanseth all sin, to […]

O LORD, I marvel that thou shouldst become incarnate, be crucified, dead, and buried. The sepulchre calls forth my adoring wonder, for it is empty and thou art risen; the four-fold gospel attests it, the living witnesses prove it, my heart’s experience knows it. Give me to die with thee that I may rise to […]