Here’s an excerpt from a great prayer that can be found in the Valley of Vision (The Great God), that might be useful this week as we prepare ourselves for Sunday’s service. We’ll be looking at how the Spirit brings the presence of God to us, and brings us to God’s presence.

O Fountain of all good,

destroy in me every lofty thought;

break pride to pieces and scatter it to the wind.

Annihilate every clinging shred of self-righteousness …

open in me a fount of penitential tears.

Break me, then bind me up.

Thus will my heart be a prepared dwelling for my God;

then can the Father take up His abode in me;

then can the Blessed Jesus come with healing in His touch,

then can the Holy Spirit descend in sanctifying grace;

O Holy Trinity, three Persons, one God,

inhabit me, a temple consecrated to your glory.

Then Thou art present, evil cannot abide;

in Thy fellowship is fullness of joy;

beneath Thy smile is peace of conscience;

by Thy side no fears disturb…

Make me meet, through repentance, for Thine Divine indwelling.

What a great prayer! As an aside, I’d have never come up with a prayer like that! It’s one of the advantages of using a book of prayers as part of our habits of spiritual discipline. We end up praying for things, and in ways, that we’d never initiate left to our own devices.