Christ Alone

O God,
Thy main plan, and the end of thy will is to make Christ glorious and beloved in heaven where he is now ascended, where one day all the elect will behold his glory and love and glorify him for ever.
Though here  I love him but little, may this be my portion at last. In this world thou hast given me a beginning, one day it will be perfected in the realm above.
Thou has helped me to see and to know Christ, though obscurely, to take him, receive him, to possess him, love him, to bless him in my heart, mouth, life.
Let me study and stand for discipline, and all the ways of worship, out of love for Christ; and to show my thankfulness; to seek and know his will from love, to hold it in love, and daily to care for and keep this state of heart.
Thou has led me to place all my nature and happiness in oneness with Christ, in having heart and mind centered only on him, in being like him in communicating good to others;
This is my heaven on earth, but I need the force, energy, impulses of thy Spirit to carry me on the way to my Jerusalem.
Here, it is my duty to be as Christ in this world, to do what he would do, to live as he would live, to walk in love and meekness; then would he be known, then would I have peace in death and not shrink at his appearing.



This is a prayer taken from "The Valley of Vision." My siblings and I gave it to our dad for his 43rd birthday. I saw it lying on the couch and decided to pick it up and read some of it. It is a book full of prayers directly about certain things of God. This one describes me to a tee.
I so much want to step heavenward and be more like Christ, but it is so hard sometimes and I find myself falling more then stepping forward in the pilgrimage of the christian life. Prayers like this one are a great encouragement to me and I get a spiritual boost every time I read one. I hope it is a comforting to you as to me.