Sweet Hour of Prayer

“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!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
the joys I feel, the bliss I share
of those whose anxious spirits burn
with strong desires for thy return!
With such I hasten to the place
where God my Savior shows his face,
and gladly take my station there,
and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
thy wings shall my petition bear
to him whose truth and faithfulness
engage the waiting soul to bless.
And since he bids me seek his face,
believe his word, and trust his grace,
I’ll cast on him my every care,
and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!”

I will be the first to admit that when I was growing up and listening to this particular hymn, my initial reaction was either “Why would someone want to prayer for a full hour?” or “What can you pray about for 60 minutes straight?”  I have matured a little bit from my younger days and my perspective about prayer has changed since my youth, but I think the author of this hymn had a different meaning for “Hour of prayer.”  I think his intent was a “season” or “time” of prayer.  In our busy lives that we lead, one of the areas that can be neglected is this season of prayer.  There are things that tend to take our time, our thoughts, and our energy, and we can become easily distracted by “life,” and we do not spend the necessary time in prayer.   This hymn is a reminder of some of the things that make prayer “sweet:”

• Prayer is a privilege – How many false religions in the world require its followers to travel to certain cities, face a certain direction several times a day, pray to or through another person, or repeat the same thing over and over again. In prayer, we, as Christians, have an opportunity to talk to God.  Talk to Him about our cares, our wants, our wishes, and our frustrations.  We don’t have to be lofty, eloquent, repetitous, or even grammatically correct.  We can just talk to God.
• Prayer is a refuge – Probably the most memorable line of this hymn is “In seasons of distress and grief, my soul has often found relief.”  Often times during various trials in our life, we refocus on God and spend more time in prayer.  During that time of talking and listening to God, He teaches us to lean on Him and trust in Him.  How much better it would be to not wait until the times of distress and grief in our lives to have a habit of talking to God.  There is an old commercial from years gone by that asks the question “How do you spell relief?”  I think the answer is P-R-A-Y-E-R.

Finally, there is a line in the final verse that reminds me of fishing.  In fishing, there is a common practice of “catch and release.”  The concept is fairly simple.  You catch the fish, and then release it back to swim another day.  In the last line of this hymn, the author says he will “cast” and “wait.”  We should cast our burdens on the Lord and then wait.  Wait for His answer. Wait for the situation to be worked out in His time.  Wait for Him to change our hearts or the hearts of others around us.  We probably do an okay job of “casting” – letting God know about our problems and concerns.  The question is, how good are we at waiting?  I challenge you to spend some time in prayer – time talking, time listening, and time waiting.  Maybe even try it for an hour.  You may then be able to say – How “sweet” it is!