Father, Hear the Prayer We Offer

Representative Text

1 Father, hear the prayer we offer:
not for ease that prayer shall be,
but for strength that we may ever
live our lives courageously.

2 Not for ever in green pastures
do we ask our way to be;
but the steep and rugged pathway
may we tread rejoicingly.

3 Not for ever by still waters
would we idly rest and stay;
but would smite the living fountains
from the rocks along our way.

4 Be our strength in hours of weakness,
in our wanderings be our guide;
through endeavour, failure, danger,
Father, be thou at our side.

Source: Ancient and Modern: hymns and songs for refreshing worship #629a

Author: Love M. Whitcomb Willis

Willis, Love Maria, née Whitcomb, b. June 9, 1824, at Hancock, N.H., and married in 1858, to Frederick L. H. Willis, M.D. She lived for many years at Rochester, N.Y., and now (1907) resides at Glenora, on Seneca Lake, N.Y. Her hymn:— Father, hear the prayer I offer [Aspiration] appeared in Tiffany's Monthly, 1859. In Longfellow & Johnson's Hymns of the Spirit, 1864, No. 558, it was given in 4 stanzas of 4 lines, as "Father, hear the prayer we offer," and as "Anon." The text was in great measure rewritten, probably by S. Longfellow. This 1864 text has come into somewhat extensive use in England and America, the latest to adopt it being The English Hymnal, 1906. For these facts we are mainly indebted to the Rev. W.C. Gannett, Rochester… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Father, hear the prayer we offer! Not for ease that prayer shall be
Title: Father, Hear the Prayer We Offer
Author: Love M. Whitcomb Willis
Meter: 8.7.8.7
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Father, hear the prayer we offer. [Prayer.] Given anonymously in J. S. Adams's Psalms of Life, 1857, No. 285, in 5 stanzas of 4 lines; in Longfellow and Johnson's Unitarian Hymns of the Spirit, Boston, U.S., 1864, No. 558, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines; in the Songs for the Sanctuary, N. Y., 1865; Laudes Domini, 1884, and others; and, with an additional stanza, in W. G. Horder's Congregational Hymns, Lond., 1884.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 35 of 35)
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African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal #341

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Ancient and Modern #629a

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Ancient and Modern #629b

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Ancient and Modern #629c

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #169a

Anglican Hymns Old and New (Rev. and Enl.) #169b

Christian Science Hymnal #471

Church Family Worship #85

Church Gospel Songs and Hymns #555

Church Hymnal, Fifth Edition #645

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Church Hymnary (4th ed.) #255

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Common Praise #416a

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Common Praise #416b

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Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #161a

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Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New #161b

Complete Mission Praise #132

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CPWI Hymnal #483

Great Songs of the Church (Revised) #564

Hymns Ancient and Modern, New Standard Edition #113

Hymns and Psalms #436a

Hymns and Psalms #436b

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Hymns for Today's Church (2nd ed.) #360a

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Hymns for Today's Church (2nd ed.) #360b

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Hymns for Today's Church (2nd ed.) #360c

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Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise #255

Hymns of the Saints #453

Hymns Old and New #120

Praise for the Lord (Expanded Edition) #144

Sing Glory #237

Singing the Faith #518

The Book of Hymns (A fresh anthology of favourite hymns) #5

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The Cyber Hymnal #1467

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The Irish Presbyterian Hymbook #103

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The New English Hymnal #357

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The Song Book of the Salvation Army #570

Include 196 pre-1979 instances
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