“And bids me at my Father’s throne make all my wants and wishes known.”

Hymn: “Sweet Hour of Prayer” – William Walford (1772-1850)
Tune: SWEET HOUR

Have you ever noticed WHO is being addressed when you sing a hymn? Many… probably most… are addressed to God the Father, Son or Spirit. Others we sing to fellow believers (“Come, we that love the Lord,” e. g.). There’s also a group of gospel songs that we sing to those outside the faith; we evangelicals often use these for invitation hymns: “Only Trust Him,” “Are You Washed in the Blood?”, etc.

When we sing “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” we are not only singing ABOUT prayer; we are singing TO prayer. The entire text is addressed to the privilege we call prayer. Some hymnals capitalize the thee’s, thy’s, and thou’s, but they shouldn’t be… in my humble, uneditorial opinion.

Prayer often calls to US, reminding us to make better use of it. In the middle of worry and difficulty, I sometimes say, “What am I going to do?”, and prayer whispers, “Try me!” It bids me… lures me, motions for me to enter the presence of God with my wants and wishes.

There’s a great argument that there’s no reason to pray because God already knows what’s going on in my life, so why recap it. I don’t buy into that debate, and those who do have likely never experienced the warm blessing it is to pour out one’s deepest desires to the One who is most concerned about them.

If you can anthropomorphize prayer – assign a human face and body to it – imagine that she stands motioning for you to come make use of the privilege she affords. Almost siren-like, she calls you… not to a rocky demise but to a hopeful expression of what you need to get off your chest.

Got a problem you can’t solve? Got a hole in your resolve? According to the Cynthia Clawson song, “Bring it to Jesus” – responding to the bidding of prayer.


                                    An a cappella Congregational Singing of This Hymn