Church Hymnary (4th ed.) ‎#546

546. Prayer is the soul's sincere desire

1 Prayer is the soul's sincere desire,
unuttered or expressed,
the motion of a hidden fire
that trembles in the breast.

2 Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
the falling of a tear,
the upward glancing of an eye
when none but God is near.

3 Prayer is the simplest form of speech
that infant lips can try;
prayer the sublimest strains that reach
the Majesty on high.

4 Prayer is the Christian's vital breath,
the Christian's native air,
their watchword at the gates of death,
they enter heaven with prayer.

5 Prayer is not made by us alone:
the Holy Spirit pleads,
and Jesus, on the eternal throne,
for sinners intercedes.

6 O Christ, by whom we come to God,
the Life, the Truth, the Way,
the path of prayer yourself have trod,
Lord, teach us how to pray.

Text Information

• First Line: Prayer is the soul's sincere desire
• Author: James Montgomery (1771-1854)
• Meter: CM
• Language: English
• Publication Date: 2005
• Scripture:
  Acts 7:59-60
  ;
  Acts 9:11
  ;
  Acts 12:12
  ;
  Colossians 4:2
  ;
  Ephesians 6:18
  ;
  Hebrews 7:25
  ;
  Isaiah 59:9-10
  ;
  John 14:6
  ;
  Luke 11:1-4
  ;
  Matthew 6:6
  ;
  Matthew 6:9-13
  ;
  Nehemiah 2:4
  ;
  Psalm 8:1-2
  ;
  Psalm 39:2-3
  ;
  Romans 8:26-28
• Topic: Life in Christ: Our Response to Christ - In Devotion; Prayer

Tune Information

• Name: COLESHILL
• Meter: CM
• Key: g minor
• Source: Melody from Barton's The Psalms of David in Metre, Dublin, 1706, later form; harmonised Church Hymnary, 3rd edition, 1973