More Holiness Give Me

In 1873, Philip P. Bliss wrote a hymn that he simply entitled "My Prayer." How deeply each of us needs to pray this prayer that Mr. Bliss wrote 143 years ago. I know that I struggle to pray this hymn. I struggle to ask God for some of these things, and I know that this struggle is with my own sinful heart. Why don't I want to pray some of these things? Because I want to keep myself on the throne of my heart. I pray pointless prayers because I don't want to pray purposeful ones. I pray easy prayers because I don't want to pray difficult ones. I pray worthless prayers because I don't want to pray sanctifying ones.

I don't want to pray for God to put me through suffering. I don't want to pray for God to give me gratitude in my suffering. When I am in the midst of suffering, the last thing I want to pray for is that God would make me grateful for it. I suspect that I'm not alone in that. I suspect that the first inclination of your heart is like mine. We want to say to God, "Why?" We want to, as Paul Tripp likes to say, "Bring God into the court of our judgment, and judge Him as less than good." But that's not what scripture tells us to do:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:6-7, NASB)

We sing a lot of hymns and other songs without thinking about the words we are singing. We get emotionally tied up in the music and we forget that these words are being lifted up to God. When we sing "Holiness is what I long for," do we really mean that? When we cry out to God, "Be Thou my vision," do we truly long for Him to take away everything else important to us if it means that we will be nearer to Him? When we pray "Thy will be done," do we live out our week as instruments of His will being done here on earth as it is in heaven? When we sing "and You tell me that You're pleased," do we consider whether our thoughts, words, and actions in the past week have actually pleased God? When we sing "I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord," do we live and think on a moment-by-moment basis as though Jesus Christ is Lord of our hearts?

I know I don't. I know that my heart is sinful, selfish, and rotten to the core. I know that I can't sing some of those songs in good faith sometimes. Sometimes I get so busy bringing God into the court of my judgment that I forget that I am already standing in His. I am standing in His courtroom and I have already been found guilty. And yet, this same God, whom I have been so hasty to condemn in my own heart at times, has not condemned me. Instead, He has adopted me as His son and promised me an inheritance as a co-heir with Christ. And He loves me too much to leave me in this sinful, selfish, rotten state in which he has found me. He is transforming me into the likeness of His Son, and that means cutting out my evil heart, refining me from my impurities, imparting to me His holiness. Just as he said to the woman caught in adultery, He tells me, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." (Jn 8:11, NKJV)

Will you join with me in praying this hymn to God this week, this month, this year? What about this minute? Will you? It's not a question of whether we can or not. In fact, while even in the midst of the hardest difficulties, there is nothing that can ever make it impossible to say no to sin, here there isn't even anything that can make it difficult, other than our own sinful hearts. It is merely a question of making a decision to align our will with that of our Father.

As you pray this prayer, meditate on the requests. Consider what each of these requests will look like in your own life, recognizing that God will do far more than we could ever imagine to transform us and sanctify us. I have included after each request a scripture reference that you might meditate on. Maybe print out the words and scripture references and pray and meditate on one each day for the next 24 days. However you pray this prayer, please also pray for me as I pray this prayer. And feel free to email me and ask me (and challenge me) to pray for you as you pray this prayer. God is calling us higher than we want to go, but He does not call us alone. He is with us, and He has given us a community to walk alongside on this journey.

More Holiness Give Me

More holiness give me (1 Th 3:11-13), more strivings within (Heb 12:4-5).
More patience in suffering (Jas 1:2-4), more sorrow for sin (2 Cor 7:10-11).
More faith in my Savior (Mt 14:30-31), more sense of His care (Lk 12:22-28).
More joy in His service (Acts 5:40-42), more purpose in prayer (Mt 6:5-15).

More gratitude give me (Phil 4:6-7), more trust in the Lord (Pr 3:5-7).
More zeal for His glory (1 Pet 4:7-11), more hope in His Word (Ps 130).
More tears for His sorrows (Is 53:3-4), more pain at His grief (Eph 4:30-32).
More meekness in trial (1 Pet 2:21-24), more praise for relief (2 Sa 22:2-7).

More purity give me (1 Jn 3:1-3), more strength to o’ercome (Is 40:28-31),
More freedom from earth-stains (1 Jn 1:5-10), more longings for home (Rom 8:18-25).
More fit for the kingdom (Lk 9:57-62), more useful I’d be (2 Ti 2:19-23),
More blessèd and holy (Rev 20:5-6), more, Savior, like Thee (Phil 2:1-11).

(Public Domain)