Through prayer, grasp the sweetness of all that Christ has purchased for you in the past, present, and future today.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a beautiful old hymn that I just bet you’ll remember.
(Joni sings:)
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.
Don’t you love that word “sweet” in this old hymn? You know, there are so many things about knowing Christ that are just, well, they’re just sweet. Like this song goes, prayer can be sweet. Fellowship is sweet, and so is our salvation. Romans 13:11 says, "Salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed."
And that’s so true. Oh, my salvation is so much dearer, and sweeter and nearer to me than when I first believed as a teenager. Now, I appreciated what Jesus had done when I was new in the faith, but I never considered him “precious” or even “sweet”. I thought that only old hymn writers spoke of Jesus as precious and sweet! But now I am the one who is old. And I can understand what those old hymn writers meant. Because not only is my salvation nearer and more dear than when I first believed; so is Jesus. He is my true friend when I feel alone. He is my fortress when I am frightened. Jesus is my beloved when I give him praise. He is my righteousness when I have sinned. He is my bread of life when I feel hungry for more than this world offers. And he is my comforter when I am hurting. He is the shepherd who seeks me when I've gone astray.
How did Jesus become so precious to me? Well, this is the way I look at it: “Today is the first day of the rest of my salvation!” After all, the Christian idea of salvation involves not only the past, but it involves the present and the future. Ephesians 2:8 says, "By grace you have been saved through faith." Then, 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “The Gospel is the power of God to us who are being saved." And 1 Corinthians 5 says, “We may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." There you have got it! We have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. At every stage we are saved by the death of Christ. In the past, our sins were paid for by Christ on the cross. In the present, the death of Jesus secures the power of God's Spirit to save us from the domination of sin. And in the future, it will be the blood of Jesus that saves us from the wrath of God to come, and ushers us into perfection and joy eternal.
“Sweet hour of prayer that calls me from a world of care.” Today, grasp the sweetness of all that Christ has purchased for you in the past, present, and future.
© Joni and Friends