Category Archives: Valley of Vision

A Prayer on the The Resurrection Day

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The Disciples Peter and John Running to the Sepulchre on the Morning of the Resurrection by Eugène Burnard
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 new life,
for I wish to be as dead and buried
to sin, to selfishness, to the world;
that I might not hear the voice of the charmer,
and might be delivered from his lusts.
O Lord, there is so much ill about me -crucify it,
much flesh within me -mortify it.
Purge me from selfishness, the fear of man, the love of approbation,
the shame of being thought old-fashioned,
the desire to be cultivated or modern.
Let me reckon my old life dead because of crucifixion,
and never feed it as a living thing.
Grant me to stand with my dying Savior,
to be content to be rejected,
to be willing to take up unpopular truths,
and to hold fast despised teachings until death.
Help me to be resolute and Christ-contained.
Never let me wander from the path of obedience to thy will.
Strengthen me for the battles ahead.
Give me courage for all the trials, and grace for all the joys.
Help me to be a holy, happy person,
free from every wrong desire,
from everything contrary to thy mind.
Grant me more and more of the resurrection life:
may it rule me.
may I walk in its power, and be strengthen through its influence.
Give me the assurance that in Christ I died, in Him I rose,
in His life I live, in His victory I triumph,
in His ascension I shall be glorified.
Adorable Redeemer,
Thous who wast lifted up upon a cross
art ascended to highest heaven.
Thou, who as a man of sorrows wast crowned with thorns,
art now as Lord of life wreathed with glory.
What more could be done that thou hast done!
Thy death is my life,
thy resurrection my peace,
thy ascension my hope,
thy prayers my comfort.
Amen

Because in Him we live,

Becky

*From the Valley of Vision’s prayers: Resurrection and, Crucifixion and Resurrection.

Living by Prayer

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O GOD OF THE OPEN EAR;
Teach me to live by prayer as well as by providence,
for myself, soul, body, children, family, church;
Give me a heart frameable to thy will;
so that I might live in prayer,
and honor Thee,
being kept from evil, known and unknown.

Help me to see the sin that accompanies all I do,
and the good I can distill from everything.

Let me know that the work of prayer is to bring my will to thine,
and that without this is folly to pray;
When I try to bring thy will to thine is to command Christ,
to be above him, and wiser than he:
this is my sin and my pride.

I can only succeed when I pray
according to thy precept and promise,
and to be done with as it pleases thee,
according to thy sovereign will.

When thou commandest me to pray for pardon, peace, brokeness,
it is because thou wilt give me the thing promised,
for thy glory, as well as for my good.

Help me not only to desire small things,
but with holy boldness to desire great things
for thy people, for myself,
that they and I might live to show thy glory.

Teach me that it is wisdom for me to pray for all I have,
out of love, willingly, not of necessity;
that I may come to thee at any time,
to lay open my needs acceptably to thee;
that my great sin lies in my not keeping the savour of thy ways;
that the remembrance of this truth is one way
to the sense of thy presence;
that there is no wrath like the wrath of being governed
by my own lusts for my own ends.

Amen

From the Valley of Vision

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Lord, today is the first day of the year, and I come to you praying this prayer from the Puritans. Thanking You for new beginnings, new mornings, new mercies. All Powerful God, grant me this year that I may live by prayer! That my heart may be frameable to your will, Lord. That no matter what providences you bring to my life this year, I will honor you.

Father, help me to do the labor of prayer, to persevere in it. To be reminded that there is no way for me to succeed in all that you have appointed me to do apart from You; that a life without prayer is  arrogant and vain.

God of all mercies, thank you, because you hear me, and because your ear is open to hear the prayers of your children and You do not despise us, but are pleased when we come before you in the name of Jesus, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

 

Becky

Celebrating the Excellencies of His Name -The Gift of Gifts, a Prayer from the Valley of Vision-

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O SOURCE OF ALL GOOD,
    What shall I render to thee for he gifts of gifts,
    thine own dear Son, begotten, not created,
    my Redeemer, proxy, surety, substitute,
    his self-emptying incomprehensible,
    his infinite of love beyond the heart’s grasp.

Herein is wonder of wonders:
    He came below to raise me above,
    was born like me that I might become like Him.

Herein is love;
    when I cannot rise to Him he draws near on wings of grace,
          to raise me to himself.

Herein is power;
    When Deity and humanity were infinitely apart
    he united them in indissoluble unity,  the uncreated and the created.

Herein is wisdom;
    when I was undone, with no will to return to him,
    and no intellect to devise recovery,
he came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost
          as man to die my death,
          to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,
          to work out a perfect righteousness for me.

O GOD, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds, and
    enlarge my mind;
     let me hear good tiding of great joy,
     and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, ador,
     my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,
     my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father;
place me with the ox, ass, camel, goat,
    to look with them upon my Redeemer’s face,
    and in him account myself delivered from sin;
 let me with Simeon clasp the new-born child to my heart.
     embrace him with undying faith,
     exulting that he is mine and I am His.

In Him thou hast given me so much that Heaven can give me no more.

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They that know thy name will put their trust in thee.
Psalm 9: 10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
   the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
Proverbs 18: 10

Browse through the series here.


You are most welcome to read a complementary series on The Names of God. 
Part one, The Name of God is found here;
Part 2, Taking Refuge in the Name of the Lord, here.
And part three, The Fullness of the Name of Jesus Christ is here.

Morning Dedication – That I may See All things In the Mirror of Eternity–

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©Katie Lloyd Photography. Used with permission.

ALMIGHTY GOD,
As I cross the threshold of this day
I commit myself, soul, body, affairs, friends, to thy care;
Watch over, keep, guide, direct, sanctify, bless me.
Incline my heart to thy ways;
Mould me wholly into the image of Jesus, as a potter form clay;
May my lips be a well tuned harp to sound thy praise;
Let those around see me living by the Spirit,
                                        trampling the world underfoot,
                                        unconformed to lying vanities,
                                        transformed by a renewed mind,
                                        clad in the entire armour of God,
                                        shinning as a never-dimmed light,
                                        showing holiness in all my doings.

Let no evil this day soil my thoughts, words, hands.
May i travel miry paths with a life pure from spot or stain.
In needful transactions let my affection be in heaven,
     and my love soar upwards in flames of fire,
     my gaze fixed on unseen things,
     my eyes open to the emptiness, fragility,
        mockery of earth and its vanities.

May I view all things in the mirror of eternity,
     waiting for the coming of my Lord,
     listening for the last trumpet call,
     hastening unto the new heaven and earth.

Order this day all my communications according to thy wisdom,
and to gain of mutual good.

Forbid that I should not be profited or made profitable.

May I speak each word as if my last word,
     and walk each step as my final one.

If my life should end today, let this be my best day.

From the Valley of Vision

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Praying Through The Valley of Vision

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My own Valley of Vision paperback edition made prettier

Because I firmly believe that there is no other way to grow in prayer than by praying, I just started Joe Thorn’s  “organized approach to working through The Valley of Vision prayer book in 13 weeks using 3 daily “appointments” scheduled at 9am, 12pm, and 3pm Monday through Friday.”

Walking Through the Valley of Vision a project by Joe Thorn

I want to do this, because I am prone to wander. Sometimes I just need reminders to help me break my routine and come before the Lord in prayer; and as with any other prayer companion this one should never substitute our time in communion with the Lord through praying, reading and meditating on His Word.

Tim Challies said it well,

“I need to learn to pray and because I know there is much I can learn from this book. Though it is not an instruction manual, there is a sense in which is serves in just that way. Most of us (perhaps all of us) learn to pray by imitating others. And the people who prayed these prayers and recorded them for us are worthy of imitation. These are not prayers to be read as if just reading the words has any power or worth; they are prayers to be prayed as if they were your own words. As you speak them, offering them to God, they become just that”.

Joe Thorn says about this organized approach:

“Please keep in mind that this should not be the totality of your prayer life, but one part of it, fueling your meditation on Scripture, dependency on the gospel, exercise of faith in and love for Jesus.”

And because, I also firmly believe that we should encourage one another to persevere in good deeds, (and certainly prayer is one!), I want to invite you to join me. Yes, I know, Thanksgiving and Christmas and all that comes along with those Holidays will be there (this project lasts 13 weeks), but that is why I am convinced that I need extra help to keep myself focused in what really matters, at the feet of Jesus and not be caught up in the business of the seasons to come.

Would you join me? I already have my sister joining me; so that makes two of us, but it would be great if more friends would walk through the Valley of Vision along. If you are interested go to Joe Thorn’s page, read the basic instructions, print your schedule, paste it (or just tuck it) inside your book and start right there. Remember that this only goes from Monday through Friday, so you have two more days to catch up. (If you have a Twitter account and would like to tweet about this use the hashtag #walkingthruthevalleyofvision)

May we learn to live at the foot of the cross, where we learn by paradoxes.

Becky

>Being Specific in our Gratitude – Why it Matters-

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Stones of Diverse Paths

What a wonderful thing it is to continue, after the Lord’s Day, praising God for all His benefits and graces!

It is my joy to share with you what the Lord has been doing here, in me, with me, around my family and friends; so that you may be moved too, to praise Him, and see His hand even in those little things that happen in our lives, and make our days, our life.

I have learned that being specific on my gratitude towards God, helps me grow in contentment. It is definitely, much easier to say “Thank you, Lord for all you give me”; than “Thank you, Lord for this and this, and this, and that…” And the same happens with our confession of sin, it is easier to say, “Lord, forgive all the sins that I have committed today”, than to stop and take the time to search my heart and lay it open before God and say, “Lord, forgive for me for this, and that, and this thing that I should have done and I didn’t…”

Another important thing I have learned, is that we are so “physical” oriented, so bound to all the things on earth, that if we are to grow in contentment, we must raise our eyes beyond the things that we enjoy in this world, and not only give thanks for them, but also for all the spiritual graces that we enjoy. It is, when we give thanks to our Heavenly Father, for all those spiritual graces, that our gratitude looks different than that of the unbelievers who are also trying to live in gratitude.

Today I am grateful, my heart is overflowing with gratitude because…

#1269- 1280

He has given me faith. And as the Puritan prayer reads, so I pray today:

“My God
I bless thee that thou hast given me the eye of faith,
to see thee as a Father,
to know thee as a covenant God,
to experience thy love planted in me…

Be pleased to live and move within me,
breathing in my prayers,
inhabiting my praises,
speaking in my words,
moving in my actions,
living in my life,
causing me to grow in grace”

I am grateful because I can read my Bible. I can feed my soul with the bread of life, and drink from the Word to satisfy my thirst.

I am grateful that the Lord is helping me to memorize the epistle of James; and for all the practical, day-to-day challenges to live the Christian life found in this epistle.

I am grateful for my friend, Elizabeth Hankins. The Lord has brought our paths together to encourage one another to memorize, meditate, and study the Word of God. You are a precious gift to me!

I am grateful, for my sons, see them playing, laughing, spending hours together is nothing else than the grace of God working in our family.

I am grateful for my daughters, their sweet spirit, and gentle heart blesses my soul every day.

I am so grateful for the gift of a new life! A baby, all complete, still in her mom’s womb is getting ready to be borned in a covenant family. It blesses my heart! The prayers, expectations, all the joys, the tiny clothes, and the big brothers awaiting with a heart full of love. Those are blessings from our Heavenly Father!

I am grateful for all the summer plans ahead of us; but mostly, because we can rest knowing that God holds our times in His hand and He knows the longings of our hearts. To be able to rest in His Divine Providence is a gift of grace.

I am grateful for my son, who is willing to laugh with me and have fun with mom, as I took a series of pictures of him tasting a bacon and dark chocolate bar. Just wonderful memories!

I am grateful for my son’s  friend visiting our family for a month. What a joy to share our home with this godly young man!

I am grateful for this day, for the errands, and the provision to buy all we need at home. His faithfulness never fails.

Praising God with you today.

Becky