Lift your weary heart in the middle of life’s hardships and let the timeless words of hymns become your prayer. God will give you strength, peace, and grace when you need it most.
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Speaking God’s Language – Throughout the Bible, God encourages us to bring before him our worship and praise, confession, thanksgivings, intercessions, and petitions. As Christians grow in the discipline of praying, it becomes clear that there is always more to learn. Joni Eareckson Tada shares insights and personal stories that will hone your skill of including scripture in your prayers.
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SHAUNA: Welcome to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. There’s a beautiful hymn called “My Faith Looks Up to Thee,” and Joni’s favorite verse of that hymn – well, it’s not the first verse, but the second. And here she is to sing it for us now.
(Joni sings:)
May thy rich grace impart strength to my failing heart,
My zeal inspire
As thou hast died for me, oh, may my love to thee
Pure, warm and changeless be a living fire
JONI: Oh, do I love that verse, that second one. Sometimes in the middle of the night when I cannot sleep, I use it as a prayer; I lean on those words; I repeat it over and over.And also, the next verse which goes:
When life’s dark maze I tread and griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my Guide;
Bid darkness turn to day, wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray from Thee aside
And, okay, while I'm at it, I may as well share the last verse which I also love. Its words are pretty encouraging. The writer says:
When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold sullen stream over me roll;
Blest Savior, then in love, fear and distrust remove;
O bear me safe above, a ransomed soul!
You know, often I hear people say that they don’t know how to pray, to pray effectively. They haven’t quite grasped the language of prayer. They’re not sure what words to use. Well, hey, these three verses of this beautiful hymn, “My Faith Looks Up to Thee” are like a primer for anyone looking to elevate their prayer life. Even still, I will often crack open a hymnal and borrow the words of a timeless hymn as my prayer for the day.
Not long ago I was going through a difficult time emotionally, and once again, I found myself praying to God: May thy rich grace impart strength to my fainting heart, Lord Jesus, My zeal inspire would you? As thou hast died for me, oh, may my love to thee Pure, warm and changeless be a living fire.Aren’t those great words to use in prayer – maybe when your spirit is sagging, when you feel overwhelmed by the challenges of life? Because life is hard, I tell you it’s hard. Jesus said in this world you willhave trouble and in Acts 14 it says, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” When we sign up for the Christian walk, there is no fine print in the contract – it is spelled out: living for Jesus is fullof hardship!
And this beautiful old hymn, “My Faith Looks Up to Thee,” speaks to the way life really is for you and me. Maybe there aren’t so many times I can honestly welcome a trial as a friend, but I can welcome it as reality, as the way things are, as something I need to embrace and not grumble or complain about. And so, in the middle of the night when my back is killing me and I simply cannot call my husband one more time to turn me in bed, I will quietly offer up the words of this old hymn as a prayer, and you know what? The peace of God settles over me like a blanket. So today, whatever challenges youare facing, whatever load youmay be bearing, it’s my prayer that your faith will look up to God. May His rich grace impart strength to your fainting heart. Keep singing this hymn throughout the rest of your day.
SHAUNA: Take advantage of our free booklet called Speaking God’s Language. And it’s free for you at joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends