The Valley of Vision by John Avant

In 2013 I found myself in a valley of grief and pain. My father, my hero, suddenly died and at the same time, I was the new senior pastor of a church in a very difficult season. A precious woman in that church gave me a little book called “The Valley of Vision.” It is a collection of Puritan prayers from long ago.

Since then I have found myself comforted by these prayers every time I am in a valley.  . 

Eight years ago, I entered perhaps the lowest valley of my entire life. The details don’t really matter at this point, but it was a lonely, dark place. That valley was filled with what I perceived as my own failures as well as the evil actions of others.  

Once again, I turned to this little book. And one night I found myself praying this prayer that had been prayed by persecuted Puritans long ago:

“In prayer I launch far out into the eternal world, and on that broad ocean, my soul triumphs over all evils. In prayer, I see myself as nothing; I find my heart going after thee with intensity, and long with vehement thirst to live for thee. In prayer all my worldly cares, fears, anxieties disappear, and are of as little significance as a puff of wind. In prayer I can place all my concerns in thy hands, to be entirely at thy disposal, having no will or interest of my own.” (The Valley of Vision:  A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett, pp.264-265)

At the bottom of the page, I wrote these words: “Let this be my prayer in these days - no will of my own.”

That may be one of the hardest prayers to pray in all the world. To trust God completely and to know He is with us in every valley, that His will is better than mine 100% of the time.

Eight years later, I can look back and see that I was never alone in that season.  And I am not in that valley any longer. In fact those days seem like another lifetime. Today I find myself on a joyous mountain with the same Savior who was with me in the lowest pit. 

I know there are more valleys ahead. That is life in this world until the glorious day when our King returns and makes all things well. 

But my Father’s journey with me through the last valley builds my faith that He will be fully enough for me in the next one. 

Perhaps you are in one of those dark valleys right now. Consider praying that same beautiful Puritan prayer in this painful moment of your own life.

And then wait. Watch. Pray. And soon you too will find yourself walking side-by-side with a faithful Friend, along that trail of tears - out of the valley of sadness and into the valley of joy. 

The Valley of Vision.