Taylor: prayer for acknowledging the Presence

Thursday, June 10, 2010
Meditation:
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
You hem me in—behind and before;
    you have laid your hand upon me.
    —Psalm 139:4-5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    This Prayer is especially to be used in temptation to private sin.
    O almighty God, infinite and eternal, Thou fillest all things with Thy presence; Thou art every where by thy essence and by Thy power; in heaven by glory, in holy places by Thy grace and favour, in the hearts of Thy servants by Thy Spirit, in the consciences of all men by Thy testimony and observation of us. Teach me to walk always as in Thy presence, to fear Thy majesty, to reverence Thy wisdom and omniscience; that I may never dare to commit any indecency in the eye of my Lord and my Judge; but that I may with so much care and reverence demean myself that my Judge may not be my accuser, but my advocate; that I, expressing the belief of Thy presence here by careful walking, may feel the effects of it in the participation of eternal glory, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
    ... Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), Holy Living [1650], in The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, D.D., v. III, London: Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans, 1847, p. 43 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    You have placed eternity in my heart, Lord. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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