LORD OF ALL BEING,
There is one thing that deserves my greatest care, and calls forth my ardent desires,
That is, that I may answer the great end for which I am made –
To glorify you who has given me being,
And to do all the good I can for my fellow men;
Verify life is not worth having
If it be not improved for this noble purpose.
Yet, O LORD, how little is this the thought of mankind!
Most men seem to live for themselves,
Without much or any regard for your glory,
Or for the good of others;
They earnestly desire and eagerly pursue
The riches, honors, pleasures of this life,
As if they supposed that wealth, greatness, merriment,
Could make their immortal souls happy;
But, alas, what false delusive dreams are these!
And how miserable ere long will those be that sleep in them,
For all our happiness consists in loving you,
And being holy as you are holy.
O may I never fall into the temper and vanities,
The sensuality and folly of the present world!
It is a place of inexpressible sorrow, a vast empty nothingness;
Time is a moment, a vapor,
And all its enjoyments are empty bubbles,
Fleeting blasts of wind,
From which nothing satisfactory can be derived;
Give me grace always to keep in covenant with you,
And to reject as delusion a great name here or hereafter,
together with all sinful pleasures or profits.
Help me to know continually
That there can be no true happiness,
No fulfilling of your purpose for me,
Apart from a life lived in and for the Son of your love.
In whose name I pray.
Power Prayers are an updated version of prayers found in The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett, Canon of St. Albans Cathedral. We hope you will find them spiritually enriching. We post new Power Prayers regularly.
