The Voice Of One Crying Out In Suburbia

The Valley of Vision

My prayer life has always been poor at best. Reading the Word? Pretty dilligent. Studying theology? Love it! Working out apologetic arguments for various issues. A real passion. But prayer? That is where I have struggled mightily. I don't pray as often as I should and when I do it often seems to lack any real impact on me (I don't expect as some do that my prayers will change God, I just hope that they will change me)

So I bought a copy of The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers (in the nice leather bound edition) and have been incorporating that into our evening Scripture reading. The book is not intended to replace personal prayer with rote recitation of someone else's thoughts, but I do find that it helps me to focus on God centered prayer. It can be easy to get caught up in what I want ahead of what God desires, and that is the surest way to an unfulfilling prayer life. The Valley of Vision really serves as a springboard for prayers, and I have already found it to be a great tool in developing a better prayer life.


The opening prayer of the book really captures the humility and God-centered life of the Puritans...


Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley.


That is the spirit that is really missing from the church, the setting aside of self in order to glorify God, the recognition that when we try to lift ourselves up we invariably fail and only in glorifying God the most can we truly be content. When we are deepest in the valley, our view is the most clear.

The Puritans are much maligned in modernity, and unfortunately often by the church, but if more Christians assumed and emulated the attitude of the Puritans, a self-effacing, Scripture saturated, Christ focused, God honoring attitude, the church would have far greater impact on the world.