Scripture References:
st. 1 = Jer. 1:9
st. 3 = Isa. 50:4
st. 4 = 1 Cor. 12:4-11
Francis R. Havergal (PHH 288) wrote this text at Winterdyne, England, on April 28, 1872. With the heading "A Worker's Prayer" and with a reference to Romans 14:7 ("none of us lives to himself alone"), the seven-stanza text was first published as one of William Parlane's musical leaflets. It was then republished in Havergal’s Under the Surface in 1874. The Psalter Hymnal includes the original stanzas 1, 2, 4, and 7 in modern English.
"Lord, Speak to Me" is a prayer that God will speak to, lead, and teach each of us so that we may do the same to others who need Jesus Christ (st. 1-3). The text also expresses our commitment to full-time kingdom service ("use me, Lord . . . just as you will, and when, and where") , an ongoing task that ultimately leads us to eternal "rest," 'Joy," and "glory" (st. 4).
Liturgical Use:
Worship that focuses on missions and evangelism (during Pentecost season) and on the "equipping of the saints for ministry."
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988
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Lord, speak to me, that I may speak. Frances R. Havergal. [Lay Helpers.] Written, April 28, 1872, at Winterdyne, and first printed as one of Parlane's musical leaflets in the same year. In 1874 it was published in her Under the Surface, and in 1879 in Life Mosaic. In the original manuscript it is headed “A Worker's Prayer. ‘None of us liveth to himself.' Rom. xiv. 7." This hymn has become very popular, and is highly esteemed by those engaged in Christian work.
--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)
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