In Prayer

O Lord,

In prayer I launch far out into the eternal world,
   and on the broad ocean my soul triumphs
   over all evils on the shores of mortality.
Time, with its happy pleasures and cruel disappointments, never appears so inconsiderate as when I'm praying.
In prayer I see myself as nothing;
   I find my heart going after you with intensity,
   and long with tremendous thirst to live to you.
Blessed be the strong winds of the Spirit
   that speed me on my way to the New Jerusalem.
In prayer all things here below vanish,
   and nothing seems important
   but holiness of heart and the salvation of others.
In prayer all my worldly cares, fears, and anxieties disappear
   and are of as little significance as a puff of wind.
In prayer my soul inwardly exults with lively
   thoughts at what you are doing for your church,
   and I long for you to get yourself a great name
   from sinners returning to Zion.
In prayer I am lifted above the frowns and flatteries of life,
   and taste heavenly joys;
   entering into the eternal world
   I can give myself to you with all my heart,
   to be yours for ever.
In prayer I can place all my concerns in your hands,
   to be entirely at your disposal
   having no will or interest of my own.
In prayer I can intercede for my friends, ministers,
   sinners, the church, your kingdom to come,
   with greatest freedom and ardent hopes,
      as a son to his father,
      as a lover to the beloved.
Help me to be all prayer
   and never to stop praying.

Act of Approach

Kind Lord,

I praise you continually for giving me permission
   to approach your throne of grace,
   and to spread my wants and desires before you.
I am not worthy of your blessings and mercies
   for I am far gone from original righteousness;
My depraved nature reveals itself in disobedience and rebellion
My earlier years discovered in me discontent, pride, envy and revenge.
Remember not the sins of my youth,
   nor the multiplied transgressions of later years,
      my failure to use wisely my time and talents,
      my abuse of your mercies and spiritual helps,
      my wasted Sunday rest days,
      my perverted seasons of grace,
      my long neglect of your great salvation,
      my disregard of the Friend of sinners.

While I confess my guilt, help me to feel it deeply,
   with self-abhorrence and self-despair, yet
   to remember that there is hope in you,
   and to see the Lamb that takes away sin.
Through him may I return to you,
   listen to you,
   trust in you,
   delight in your law,
   obey you,
   be upheld by you.
Preserve my understanding from error,
   my affections from love of idols,
   my lips from speaking deceit,
   my conduct from the stain of sinful behavior,
   my character from the appearance of evil,
      that I may be harmless,
      blameless,
      rebukeless,
      exemplary,
      useful,
      light-giving,
      prudent,
      zealous for your glory
         and the good of my fellow-men.

Covenant

Lord Jesus,
Would you grant me the favor of being led by you,
   under the directions of your acts of provision
   and your word?
Please grant me your blessings along with bitter things,
   to brighten and quicken me,
   and not to depress me and make me lifeless;
Grant me, like Gideon of old, signs of direction,
   by removing things that discourage me;
And may you also grant me support beneath the shadow of your sympathy when I am tempted.
Accept my unceasing thanks
   that I am not cast off from your hand
   as a darkened star of a rudderless ship.
Please do not allow me to live
   beyond my usefulness;
Cast me not under the feet of
   pride, injustice, riches, worldly greatness,
   or the selfish oppression of men;
Help me to wait patiently, silently upon you,
   not to be filled with anger or to speak foolishly
Let your mercy follow me while I live,
   and help me to submit myself to your will.
Take my heart and hold it in your hand;
   write upon it reverence to yourself with an inscription that time and eternity cannot erase.
To your grace and the care of your covenant
   I commit myself, in sickness and in health,
      for you have overcome the world,
      fulfilled the law,
      accomplished justifying righteousness,
      swallowed up death in victory,
      and taken all power everywhere.
Mark this covenant with your own blood
   in the court of forgiving mercy;
Attach unto it your name in which I believe,
   for it is sealed by my unworthy mortal hand.

Confidence

O God, you are very great!

My calling is to approach you with godly fear and humble confidence,
   for the way you stoop down to me is equal to your grandeur
   and your goodness is your glory.
I am unworthy, but still you welcome me;
   I am guilty, but your are merciful;
   I am penniless but your riches are unsearchable.
You have shown boundless compassion towards me
   by not sparing your Son,
   and by freely giving me all things in him;
This is the foundation of my hope,
   the refuge of my safety,
   the new and living way to approach you,
   the thing which creates in me that conviction of sin,
      that brokenness of heart, and self-despair,
      which will cause me to love the gospel.
Happy are they who are Christ's,
   in him at peace with you, Father,
      justified from all things,
      delivered from coming wrath,
      made heirs of future glory;
O Give me such deadness to the world,
   such love to the Savior,
   such attachment to his church,
   such devotedness to his service,
      as shows that I am a recipient of his salvation.
May every part of my character and conduct
   make a serious and pleasant impression on others,
   and compel them to ask the way to the Master.
Let no incident of life, whether pleasing or painful,
   injure the prosperity of my soul
   but rather increase it.
Send me your help,
   for your appointments are not meant
      to make me independent of you,
   and the best spiritual helps will be meaningless
      without your added blessings.

To Be Fit For God

O Maker and Sustainer of all things,

Day and night are yours,
   heaven and earth declare your glory;
but I, a creature of your power and vast wealth,
   have sinned against you by resisting
      the promptings of my conscience,
      the demands of your law
      the calls of your gospel
   yet I live under the governance of a given hope.
Deliver me, I pray, from worldly attitudes
   for I am born from above and bound for glory.
May I see and long after holiness
   as the beauty and dignity of the soul.
Let me never slumber,
   never lose my assurance,
   never fail to wear spiritual armor when passing through enemy land.
Fit me for every situation and circumstance;
Stay my mind upon you and turn my trials
   to blessings
   that they may draw out my gratitude and praise
   as I see their design and effects.
Please cause my obedience to your will to be holy, natural, and delightful.
Refine all my values by clear, consistent, and influential views of divine truth.
Let me never undervalue or neglect any part of your revealed will.
May I appropriately esteem the doctrine and practice of the gospel,
   prizing its commands as well as its promises.
Will you sanctify me in every relationship, position, project and life situation?
   that if I prosper I will not be overly exalted,
   and if I suffer I will not be over-sorrowful.
Balance my mind in all the various circumstances that come to me
   and help me to cultivate an attitude
   that makes every duty a spiritual privilege.
Thus may I be content,
   be a glory to you
   and an example to others.

Love Shed Abroad

Gracious God,

My heart praises you for the wonder of your love in Jesus;
He is heaven's darling, but is for me
   the incarnate, despised, rejected,
   crucified sin-bearer;
In him your grace has almost out-graced itself
In him your love to rebels has reached its height
O to love you with a a love like this
My heart is stone, please melt it with your love
My heart is locked, let love be the master key to open it
O Father, I adore you for your great love
   in the gift of Jesus,
O Jesus, I bless you for laying down your life for me,
O Holy Spirit, I thank you for revealing to me this mystery
Great God, let your Son see in me the purpose of his cross
Bring me away from my false trusts to rest in him,
   and him only.
Let me not be so callous to his merit
   as not to love him
  so indifferent to his blood
   as not to desire cleansing.
Lord Jesus, Master, Redeemer, Savior
   come and take entire possession of me;
   this is your right by purchase.
In the arms of love enfold and subdue
   my willful spirit.
Please take, sanctify, and use my every faculty;
I am not ashamed of my hope
   nor has my confidence led me into confusion.
I trusted in you regarding my innumerable sins,
   and you have cast them behind your back.
I trusted in you when evils encompassed me
   and you brought me out into a wealthy place.
I trusted in you in an hour of distress
   and you did not fail me, though faith trembled.
O God of the eternal choice,
O God of the restored possession purchased on the tree
O God of the effectual call,
Father, Son, Holy Spirit,
   I adore your glory, honor, majesty, power, and dominion for ever.

Christian Love

It is your will that I should love you
   with heart, soul, mind, strength,
   and my neighbor as myself.
But I am not sufficient for these things.
There is, by nature, no pure love in my soul;
Every desire in me is turned away from you;
I am bound, as a slave, to lust,
I cannot love you, lovely as you are
   until you set me free.
By grace I am your freed slave and would serve you,
   for I believe you are my God in Jesus,
   and that through him I am bought back from slavery,
   and my sins are forgiven.
With this freedom I wish I would always obey you,
   but I cannot walk in liberty today,
   any more than I could first attain it on my own.
May your Spirit draw me nearer to you
   and your ways.
You are the end goal of all the helps that draw and keep me near to you,
   for if they lead me not to you,
   I go away empty.
Order all my ways by your holy Word
   and make your commandments the joy of my heart,
   that by them I may have a happy relationship with you.
May I grow in your love and display it to all.

Spirit of love, make me like the loving Jesus;
   give me his kind attitude
   his generous actions
   that I may shine before men to your glory.
The more you do in love in me and by me,
   humble me more;
   keep me meek, lowly,
   and always ready to give you honor.