O Lord of infinite mercy and sovereign grace,
I come to you as a sinner unworthy of your least gift,
yet made bold by the blood of your dear Son.
I have wandered far from you;
my will has been my idol
and my desires have led me into darkness.
Yet you have not left me without a witness,
nor without a longing that nothing of earth can satisfy.
Draw me, I pray, by the cords of your love,
and hold me fast in the embrace of your covenant mercy.
Work in me true repentance and living faith;
make me a vessel fit for your use,
emptied of pride and filled with grace.
Let me not trust in any work of my own
but rest wholly in the righteousness of Christ.
To your name alone be all glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
PROTESTANT PURITAN TRADITION, 17TH CENTURY
A Puritan Prayer
Also known as Valley of Vision Prayer ยท Puritan Daily Prayer
About this prayer
The Puritans of the seventeenth century developed a rich tradition of personal and corporate prayer, marked by deep awareness of sin, passionate longing for God, theological precision, and lyrical prose. The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers compiled by Arthur Bennett in 1975, brought these prayers to a wide modern audience. Puritan prayers are characterized by the paradoxes of Christian experience: the sinner who is both undone and redeemed, both poor and rich in Christ, both lost and found. They address God with a combination of holy awe and filial intimacy that reflects the Puritan's sense of being a child of the covenant. This prayer draws on the style and themes of the seventeenth-century Puritan devotional tradition.
When it's said
Prayers in this tradition are used for private morning or evening devotion among Christians of Reformed and evangelical conviction. They are particularly associated with the Calvinist and Puritan streams of the Protestant tradition but have been widely adopted across evangelical denominations. The Valley of Vision prayers are used in personal quiet times, in small groups, and in congregational worship.
Notes on the text
The image of being 'made bold by the blood of your dear Son' reflects Hebrews 10:19 and the Puritan conviction that access to God rests entirely on Christ's atoning work, not human merit. 'The cords of your love' echoes Hosea 11:4. 'Covenant mercy' reflects the Puritan's central organizing category of covenant theology, in which God's relationship with his people is structured by covenant promise and faithfulness. The final doxology, 'to your name alone be all glory,' echoes Psalm 115:1.
Source
Puritan devotional tradition, 17th century; cf. Arthur Bennett, ed., The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, 1975. Public domain.
Last reviewed: May 2026 against primary source.