A Prayer for Spiritual Renewal
By Ryan Dawson
We are in the middle of our Practicing Prayer & Scripture series, and last Sunday we talked about the value of using written prayers to help us grow deeper in our relationship with God. The Lord’s Prayer is one of the greatest examples of this, giving us words and a pattern when we sometimes struggle to know what to pray.
I have found that written prayers can be a wonderful companion in my own prayer life. I like to use different resources that help me slow down, focus my heart and express to God what is sometimes difficult to put into words. One of those resources has been The Valley of Vision, a collection of prayers written by Puritans who understood both the greatness of God and their deep need for His grace.
This particular prayer, “A Prayer for Spiritual Renewal,” has been meaningful to me. It expresses a deep longing for the Holy Spirit to fill, renew, teach, strengthen and transform us. As I read it, I find myself praying not simply for God to change the circumstances around me, but for Him to do His deeper work within me.
This is an important prayer for me personally. I want to experience greater intimacy with my Heavenly Father. I want to hear His voice more clearly through His Word. I want the Holy Spirit to expose the places in my heart that have grown cold or distracted and to renew my love for Jesus. And I know that if I am asking God to bring renewal to our church, it must begin with His renewing work in me.
The beautiful thing is that God is loving and good, and He welcomes us when we come to Him with open and humble hearts. He hears our prayers and responds according to His perfect will. We don't need to have the right words or somehow make ourselves worthy to approach Him. We simply come as we are and ask Him to do what only He can do.
So, as we continue this journey of Practicing Prayer & Scripture, I encourage you to take a few quiet moments and pray this prayer slowly. You may want to pause at certain phrases and make them your own. If a particular line resonates with something God is stirring in you, linger there and talk with Him about it.
My prayer is that as we seek the Lord, we will find Him, and that He will continue His deep work of renewal in each of us and among us as a church family.
May the Lord bless you as you seek Him.
For Christ and His Kingdom,
Ryan
A Prayer for Spiritual Renewal
O Holy Spirit.
As the sun is full of light, the ocean full of water,
Heaven full of glory, so may my heart be full of you.
Vain are all divine purposes of love and redemption fashioned by Jesus except your work within,
Regenerating by your power, giving me eyes to see Jesus, showing me the realities of the unseen world.
Give me yourself without measure, as an unimpaired fountain, as inexhaustible riches.
I grieve my coldness, poverty, emptiness, imperfect vision, apathetic service, prayerless prayers, praiseless praises.
Help me not to grieve or resist you.
Come as power, to expel every rebel desire, to reign supreme and keep me yours;
Come as teacher, leading me into all truth, filling me with all understanding;
Come as love, that I may adore the Father, and love him as my all;
Come as joy, to dwell in me, move me, revive me;
Come as light, illuminating the Scripture, molding me into its laws;
Come as sanctifier, body, soul, and spirit wholly yours;
Come as helper, with strength to bless and keep, directing my every step.
Come as beautifier, bringing order out of confusion, loveliness out of chaos.
Magnify to me your glory by being magnified in me, and make me scented with your fragrance.
(Updated from “Spiritus Sanctus” — The Valley of Vision)
We are in the middle of our Practicing Prayer & Scripture series, and last Sunday we talked about the value of using written prayers to help us grow deeper in our relationship with God. The Lord’s Prayer is one of the greatest examples of this, giving us words and a pattern when we sometimes struggle to know what to pray.
I have found that written prayers can be a wonderful companion in my own prayer life. I like to use different resources that help me slow down, focus my heart and express to God what is sometimes difficult to put into words. One of those resources has been The Valley of Vision, a collection of prayers written by Puritans who understood both the greatness of God and their deep need for His grace.
This particular prayer, “A Prayer for Spiritual Renewal,” has been meaningful to me. It expresses a deep longing for the Holy Spirit to fill, renew, teach, strengthen and transform us. As I read it, I find myself praying not simply for God to change the circumstances around me, but for Him to do His deeper work within me.
This is an important prayer for me personally. I want to experience greater intimacy with my Heavenly Father. I want to hear His voice more clearly through His Word. I want the Holy Spirit to expose the places in my heart that have grown cold or distracted and to renew my love for Jesus. And I know that if I am asking God to bring renewal to our church, it must begin with His renewing work in me.
The beautiful thing is that God is loving and good, and He welcomes us when we come to Him with open and humble hearts. He hears our prayers and responds according to His perfect will. We don't need to have the right words or somehow make ourselves worthy to approach Him. We simply come as we are and ask Him to do what only He can do.
So, as we continue this journey of Practicing Prayer & Scripture, I encourage you to take a few quiet moments and pray this prayer slowly. You may want to pause at certain phrases and make them your own. If a particular line resonates with something God is stirring in you, linger there and talk with Him about it.
My prayer is that as we seek the Lord, we will find Him, and that He will continue His deep work of renewal in each of us and among us as a church family.
May the Lord bless you as you seek Him.
For Christ and His Kingdom,
Ryan
A Prayer for Spiritual Renewal
O Holy Spirit.
As the sun is full of light, the ocean full of water,
Heaven full of glory, so may my heart be full of you.
Vain are all divine purposes of love and redemption fashioned by Jesus except your work within,
Regenerating by your power, giving me eyes to see Jesus, showing me the realities of the unseen world.
Give me yourself without measure, as an unimpaired fountain, as inexhaustible riches.
I grieve my coldness, poverty, emptiness, imperfect vision, apathetic service, prayerless prayers, praiseless praises.
Help me not to grieve or resist you.
Come as power, to expel every rebel desire, to reign supreme and keep me yours;
Come as teacher, leading me into all truth, filling me with all understanding;
Come as love, that I may adore the Father, and love him as my all;
Come as joy, to dwell in me, move me, revive me;
Come as light, illuminating the Scripture, molding me into its laws;
Come as sanctifier, body, soul, and spirit wholly yours;
Come as helper, with strength to bless and keep, directing my every step.
Come as beautifier, bringing order out of confusion, loveliness out of chaos.
Magnify to me your glory by being magnified in me, and make me scented with your fragrance.
(Updated from “Spiritus Sanctus” — The Valley of Vision)