Two questions I want us to ask ourselves after reading this great prayer by one of our Puritan brothers. One, do we hold God in such regard that we view our sin as disgustingly offensive? Second, what are we willing to do to overcome our sin problem? A hint for question two, there is nothing we can do apart from the Grace of God, but he gives us the means.
"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, 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 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 sould to thee if thou of thy goodness bring me not thigh.
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 greater service by tehaching me the great lesson of humility."
- The Valley of Vision, page 99
