The Prayer Connection

Today's Hymn:

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne
Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
Of those whose anxious spirits burn
With strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
Where God my Savior shows His face,
And gladly take my station there,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
Thy wings shall my petition bear
To Him whose truth and faithfulness
Engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since He bids me seek His face,
Believe His Word and trust His grace,
I’ll cast on Him my every care,
And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
May I thy consolation share,
Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
I view my home and take my flight:
This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise
To seize the everlasting prize;
And shout, while passing through the air,
“Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”

Words: Will­iam Wal­ford, 1845; ap­peared in The New York Ob­ser­ver, Sep­tem­ber 13, 1845, ac­com­pa­nied by the fol­low­ing, writ­ten by Thom­as Sal­mon:

During my re­si­dence at Coles­hill, War­wick­shire, Eng­land, I be­came ac­quaint­ed with W. W. Wal­ford, the blind preach­er, a man of ob­scure birth and con­nect­ions and no ed­u­ca­tion, but of strong mind and most re­ten­tive mem­o­ry. In the pul­pit he ne­ver failed to se­lect a less­on well adapt­ed to his sub­ject, giv­ing chap­ter and verse with un­err­ing pre­ci­sion and scarce­ly ev­er mis­plac­ing a word in his re­pe­ti­tion of the Psalms, ev­ery part of the New Tes­ta­ment, the pro­phe­cies, and some of the his­to­ries, so as to have the rep­u­ta­tion of “know­ing the whole Bi­ble by heart.” He ac­tu­al­ly sat in the chim­ney cor­ner, em­ploy­ing his mind in com­pos­ing a ser­mon or two for Sab­bath de­liv­ery, and his hands in cut­ting, shap­ing and po­lish­ing bones for shoe horns and other lit­tle use­ful im­ple­ments. At in­ter­vals he at­tempt­ed po­e­try. On one oc­ca­sion, pay­ing him a vi­sit, he re­peat­ed two or three piec­es which he had co­mposed, and hav­ing no friend at home to commit them to paper, he had laid them up in the store­house within. “How will this do?” asked he, as he re­peat­ed the fol­low­ing lines, with a com­pla­cent smile touched with some light lines of fear lest he sub­ject him­self to cri­ti­cism. I ra­pid­ly co­pied the lines with my pen­cil, as he ut­tered them, and sent them for in­ser­tion in the Ob­serv­er, if you should think them worthy of pre­ser­va­tion.

Music: Sweet Hour, Will­iam B. Brad­bu­ry, Gold­en Chain (New York: 1861) (MI­DI, score).


No sweeter time do I spend than with my Lord. I am amazed by Him daily, hourly, and even by the minute. To love me enough to give His son so that He might spend eternity with me...with you, just amazes me. I praise His name for all the things He has done for me and yes, even the rough times. It is through the rough times my relationship with God grows in deepth and breadth. I can not imagine where I would be today without Him. Does a love so great interest you? It is yours for the asking. Ask Jesus into your heart, let Him know how sorry you are for living in sin. Offer Him your life and in return He will give you eternity. If you have questions, feel free to email me at the address to the left. If you have a prayer request, please, post it so I may lift you up in prayer.

Today's thankful challenge: I am thankful for the gifts God has given me and the opportunity to use them for His glory.

Prayer requires discipline at first, but as God becomes your BFF then you will find yourself talking Him all through the day. No, prayer does not require you to be on your knees. There will be times that you will feel led to kneel but I talk to God, in the car, at work, and even in the shower.

The spiritual discipline of a prayer journal is something I suggest because you can look back and see how God has responded to your prayers. You will notice that He may not answer the prayers as you had asked but it is always to your best benefit and to His glory. Try this and see God at work.

Sweet Jesus,

I am amazed by You. I ask that you be with all those who view this blog. Lord, I lift up their prayer needs. I ask for the healings needed, the comfort requested, the blessing sought, and the love longed for.

God, I pray for all, the Love I have found in and through You. Your smiling face is in my mind daily, Your gentle touch is felt each minute of the day, Your voice is heard everywhere I go. Thank you for Your presence in my life.

I pray for those seeking Your face that You will place Your soldiers in their path, clearing the way for them to come to You.

In Your Son's Name,

Amen.