A Prayer for the Valleys of Life
May 7, 2026 | by: John Lee | 0 Comments
Posted in: Pastoral Encouragement
Prayer is such a vital part of the Christian life, yet if you’re honest, there are seasons when it feels really difficult. Words don’t come easily. Desire fades. Even approaching God can feel like a struggle.
Some have said that prayer is to the Christian what breathing is to the body. And yet, many of us know what it’s like to feel spiritually “out of breath.”
In those seasons, one resource I often return to is The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers. The Lord has used this little book, filled with the words of saints who have gone before us, to prime my heart and help me pray when I don’t know how. These prayers take Scripture and biblical truth and craft them into heartfelt, honest, and truthful prayers.
One prayer in particular, the opening prayer titled The Valley of Vision, has stayed with me across many seasons of life.
We all know what it is to walk through valleys. Some of us are there now. Others have just come through. But this prayer reminds us that the valley is not wasted, it is the place where God meets us, showing the brightness and wonder of His glory and grace. It is in the valley the Lord draws near and draws us near to him.
This prayer draws out three realities that we need to know and believe over and over again: the Lord reigns over the valley, the Lord teaches us in the valley, and the Lord meets us in the valley.
Take time this week and use this prayer to prime your heart and confidently draw near to the throne of grace, that you may receive mercy and find grace in Christ.
Lord, High and Holy, Meek and Lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision.
Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness, thy life in my death, thy joy in my sorrow, thy grace in my sin, thy riches in my poverty, thy glory in my valley.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor John
