Help me to honour thee by believing before I feel,
  for great is the sin if I make feeling a
    cause of faith.

Sometimes we fall into the trap of waiting to “feel” before we believe. What I mean by this is, the Bible tells us in so many areas that God loves us, cares for us and promises never to leave nor forsake us. However, when we run into situations that cause us to be anxious or afraid what do we do?  Instead of taking God at His word and believing & trusting His word even when we don’t feel like it, we wait to “feel happy” before we stop being anxious, we wait to feel strong and courageous or the situation changes before we stop being fearful.

The Lord calls us to trust and obey, even when we don’t feel like it.  Waiting for our feelings to lead our faith is unbelief, which is a sin. Some of us have sometimes fallen into this sin of being led by our feelings instead of walking by faith. We need to repent. I pray that this puritan prayer will help focus our minds and guide us in seeking forgiveness for the sin of waiting to “feel” before believing.

This prayer is titled “The Divine Will”. It can be found on page 14 of the book “The Valley of Vision”

O LORD,

I hang on thee; I see, believe, live,
when thy will, not mine, is done;
I can plead nothing in myself
in regard of any worthiness and grace,
in regard of thy providence and promises,
but only thy good pleasure.

If thy mercy make me poor and vile, blessed be thou!
Prayers arising from my needs are preparations for
future mercies;
Help me to honour thee by believing before I feel,
for great is the sin if I make feeling a
cause of faith.

Show me what sins hide thee from me
and eclipse thy love;
Help me to humble myself for past evils,
to be resolved to walk with more care,
For if I do not walk holily before thee,
how can I be assured of my salvation?

It is the meek and humble who are shown
thy covenant,
know thy will, are pardoned and healed,
who by faith depend and rest upon grace,
who are sanctified and quickened,
who evidence thy love.

Help me to pray in faith and so find thy will,
by leaning hard on thy rich free mercy,
by believing thou wilt give what thou hast
promised;

Strengthen me to pray with the conviction
that whatever I receive is thy gift,
so that I may pray until prayer be granted;
Teach me to believe that all degrees of mercy arise
from several degrees of prayer,
that when faith is begun it is imperfect and
must grow,
as chapped ground opens wider and wider
until rain comes.

So shall I wait thy will, pray for it to be done,
and by thy grace become fully obedient.

– Amen

Soli Deo Gloria!