Be Thou My Vision

Our prayer and meditation for Sally’s healing this morning comes from an essay written by a young student for a philosophy class assignment. The full text can be found here Be Thou My Vision Essay

Prayer for Meditation

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Message for Meditation

The main focus of the hymn is that the author wants to maintain God as his "vision" in life. This is something that many Christians rightfully pray for. To have God as one's vision in life is to center one's life around seeking Him and doing His will. Something easier said than done. John Irving once said, "If you're lucky enough to find the life you love, you have to find the courage to live it." Perhaps the author is praying for the courage, stamina, dedication, and faith that it takes to actually center one's life around God. The author goes on to pray for the many ways he needs help for this, ways God can be his Vision.

"Thou my best Thought, by day or by night", I think, can apply to more than just day and night. Some easy symbolism to draw from that line is relating Day to the good times and Night to hardship and adversity. It's easy for one to Praise God when life is looking up, but to see Him as the ultimate answer in times of depression and temptation is hard to do. Or perhaps, for others, it's easy to ask God for help, but tough to remember him when he provides it. Whatever the case may be, God should still be my vision, by Day and by Night.

"I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord" is a phrase that almost all dedicated Christians pray. It's been my most passionate prayer for these past weeks, and the simplest one. It's what comes up time and time again in our walks through this journey called life. It's so simple I feel I barely need to elaborate: I want to live my life with God.

"Thy presence my light" is a cool little phrase. It requires some abstract thinking, but what if I could light up everything I see with the light of God? How cool would it be, to see things through a Godly perspective? What if God could serve as our flashlight, in times of darkness? To walk with God and be in his presence constantly can bring meaning to areas of our life that previously seemed boring or even resided in darkness.

I could go on and describe how each line has a direct baring on my life, but that would get repetitive rather quickly, because they're all about the same thing: maintaining God as my Vision in every way possible. Perhaps the way I view each line is different from the way they were once intended, and my anecdotes about each train of thought would differ from the author's, but we're after the same Holy thing, a life with God.

The last line of the hymn starts with "Still be my vision", which Jars of Clay decides to repeat over and over till the song fades out. Doing so provoked quite the experience when I was listening to it for the first time. Each time the line was sung, I imagined a different stage of my life where God would still be my vision. Perhaps later tonight, when doing Calculus homework, God would Still be my Vision. Tomorrow, when having a bad day, He would Still be my Vision. Next week, during a drive home, He would Still be my Vision. Next year, in a dorm room working late into the night, He would Still be my Vision. Later that year, during spring break, He would Still be my Vision. A decade from now, walking into a job interview, He would Still be my Vision. Years from then, at my marriage, He would Still be my Vision. Years later, in a conflict with co-workers, He would Still be my Vision. Still years later, raising my children, He would Still be my Vision.

I just Praise God for His love and His faithfulness, and pray that I can have the same for Him, that He would Still be my Vision for years to come.

Music for Meditation

Be Thou My Vision

If you feel led to do so, please post a note of encouragement in the comment section below, or send your note by email to PrayersForSally@gmail.com.