Believing Before Feeling…The Divine Will March 11, 2010

I finally did it, I finally did it!  Yes I finally bought the book “The Valley of Vision”.  If you’re unfamiliar let me just tell you a few wonderful things about this book. 

1. It is a book of puritan prayers & devotions.

2. It is mostly written like verse, or poetry…beautiful

3. It is one of the most beautiful, expressive and heartfelt pieces of literature pieced together you will ever read. (I know that’s a bit strong but I really do think so. As far as collections of multiple peoples works go.)

I was first introduced to the prayers of the puritans on a summer project in Daytona back in 2004.  My very first summer on the SBP we did something called prayer training. I know what you’re thinking, a bunch of hooligans getting together on the beach, sure we were praying…hahaha.  I can almost not believe it myself.  But, yes, infact we did pray, and one of the things that the teacher used were these things he called “puritan prayers”…from the beginning I thought them so beautiful, so wise, so attractive (Now don’t think I’m super spiritual or anything, I really just liked the way they sounded and yes they were deeply profound and said things my heart ached to say and couldn’t quite voice).  When I found out they were housed in a book, bound and in print I told myself one day I would own a copy of this seamingly humble book…and that day my friends has come.  I own “The Valley of Vision” – It doesn’t claim to be a book that teachs you how to pray as much as a book that expresses the prayers of the saints and humbly points to the heart of God…They are convicting prayers and they do not play around.  They mean business!

So the title of this blog is “Believing before Feeling…The Divine Will”.  I took the title from the title of the prayer – “the Divine Will” with a line from the prayer that struck me.  The fact that I do a lot of “feeling” with out really “believing”.  I have been realizing that it’s easy to have faith when you feel like it.  When something seems to be going your way…of course then, it is the will of God.  But I’ve been struck with the fact that not everything goes my way, and then how do I react?  How do you continue to believe in God, how do I still love him faithfully and serve him even though, maybe he hurt my feelings by not giving me what I wanted? Or maybe he said “yes” to something and it wasn’t quite the “yes” I was looking for and now I’m not as happy as I once was with the whole plan.  I think it comes down to realizing his “Divine Will” superceeds all these feelings and even calls us to put these “feelings” under his authority and control.  He asks that I believe him before I feel anything.  To me that feels (hahah) impossible.   I include an exerpt of the prayer to get a better understanding of what I’m saying…

THE DIVINE WILL

“O LORD,

I hang on thee; I see, believe, live,

when thy will, not mine, is done;

I can plead nothing in myself

in regard of any worthiness and grace,

in regard of thy providence and promises,

but only thy good pleasure.

If thy mercy make me poor and vile, blessed be thou!

Prayers arising from my needs are preparations for future mercies;

Help me to honour thee by believing before I feel,

for great is the sin if I make feeling a cause of faith…”

Do you see, do you hear, can you tell what I’m trying to say from this little exerpt? Maybe not, but I hope so.  There is a confidence that I think I lack many times when seeking the Lord in prayer.  I think I mostly say things in a flowery, and pretty way, but I don’t state the true and undeniable facts about HIM, and about my relation to HIM.  By saying these words I am not immediately changed, but I am thoughtful, I am contemplative and I am truthful with myself and with God.  The honesty is really what I love. 

The rest of the prayer for those who wold love to finish it…

“Show me what sins hide thee from me

and eclipse thy love;

Help me to humble myself for past evils,

to be resolved to walk with more care,

For if I do not walk holily before thee,

how can I be assured of my salvation?

It is the meek and the humble who are shown thy covenant,

know thy will, are pardoned and healed,

who by faith depend and rest upon grace,

who are sanctified and quickened,

who evidence thy love.

Help me to pray in faith and so find thy will,

by leaning hard on thy rich free mercy,

by believing thou wilt give what thou hast promised;

Strengthen me to pray with the conviction

that whatever I receive is thy gift,

so that I may pray until prayer be granted;

Teach me to believe that all degrees of mercy arise

from several degrees of prayer,

that when faith is begun it is imperfect and must grow,

as chapped ground opens wider and wider until rain comes.

So shall I wait thy will, pray for it to be done,

and by thy grace become fully obedient.”

 

 

More I could say, but I’ll leave it at that for now.  Next time I’ll stop being so spiritual and talk about life a little for a change.

I can plead nothing in myself…

Ray

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