The Valley of Vision

Eli is Julie’s son who is attending Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He is sharing this passage from his personal reading for encouragement. As a reminder, Julie is battling advanced metastatic breast cancer that has spread to numerous areas in her bones and organs.

This prayer is the first among many deep and thought-provoking puritan prayers in the book The Valley of Vision. It displays boldly the trustworthy comforts God's children have in deep trials through paradoxical language. A paradox is not a contradiction but a grammatical rendering that sounds contradictory on the surface yet is true when further explained. For example, people receive life (life in Christ) when they die (total abandonment of life in Adam). The prayer speaks for itself.

LORD, HIGH AND HOLY, MEEK AND LOWLY,

You have brought me to the valley of vision, 

where I live in the depths but see you in the heights;

hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold your 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 the deepest wells,

and the deeper the wells, the brighter your stars shine;

Let me find your light in my darkness,

your life in my death,

your joy in my sorrow,

your grace in my sin,

your riches in my poverty,

your glory in my valley.

If you are interested in more prayers like this, consider buying The Valley of Vision here.