Need of Jesus: A Prayer
by Amanda Christopher
Many years ago, a friend from college gave me a book called The Valley of Vision. It is a book of Puritan prayers and devotions. The language isn’t what we are used to reading, but the writings are so beautiful and so honest. They grieve over sin. They rejoice over what God has done. They praise Him for who He is. There is continual repentance and expression of our utter dependency on God.
I find it comforting to read these prayers because it reminds me that I’m not alone. It reminds me that we all struggle to believe what is true. We are all struggling against sin and doubt. The prayer below, called “Need of Jesus,” reminds me that the fight against self-sufficiency is not a new one. It reminds me that when I had nothing to offer, Jesus rescued me.
And I need rescuing every day. In the fight against sin, in seeking to live a godly life, in striving to do all that God has called me to do, I have to remember Jesus and the gospel. “I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel,” but because of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, I am secure. I can work, I can strive to live the life God has called me to, I can rest in the complete work of Jesus, and I can call out to Him in every moment of need (which is basically all the time) and know that he will answer.
Read the prayer below; be reminded of your need for Jesus, and know that He will meet you in your need.
Lord Jesus,
I am blind, be thou my light,
ignorant, be thou my wisdom,
self-willed, be thou my mind.
Open my ear to grasp quickly thy Spirit’s voice,
and delightfully run after his beckoning hand;
Melt my conscience that no hardness remain,
make it alive to evil’s slightest touch;
When Satan approaches may I flee to thy wounds,
and there cease to tremble at all alarms.
Be my good shepherd to lead me into
the green pastures of thy Word,
and cause me to lie down beside the rivers
of its comforts.
Fill me with peace, that no disquieting worldly gales
may ruffle the calm surface of my soul.
Thy cross was upraised to be my refuge,
Thy blood streamed forth to wash me clean,
Thy death occurred to give me a surety,
Thy name is my property to save me,
By thee all heaven is poured into my heart,
but it is too narrow to comprehend thy love.
I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel,
but thy cross has brought me near,
has softened my heart,
has made me thy Father’s child,
has admitted me to thy family,
has made me joint-heir with thyself.
O that I may love thee as thou lovest me,
that I may walk worthy of thee, my Lord,
that I may reflect the image of heaven’s first-born.
May I always see thy beauty with the clear eye
of faith,
and feel the power of thy Spirit in my heart,
for unless he move mightily in me
no inward fire will be kindled.