Thoughtful Thursday

Faith
Excerpt from Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

My God,
I bless thee that thou hast given me the eye of faith,
     to see thee as Father,
     to know thee as a covenant God,
     to experience thy love planted in me;
For faith is the grace of union
     by which I spell out my entitlement to thee:
Faith casts my anchor upwards where I trust in thee
     and engage thee to be my Lord.
Be pleased to live and move within me,
     breathing in my prayers,
     inhabiting my praises,
     speaking in my words,
     moving in my actions,
     living in my life,
     causing me to grow in grace.
Thy bounteous goodness has helped me believe,
     but my faith is weak and wavering,
     its light dim,
     its steps tottering,
     its increase slow,
     its backslidings frequent;
It should scale the heavens,
     but lies grovelling in the dust.
Lord, fan this divine spark into glowing flame.