Father, Hear the Prayer We Offer

Father, hear the prayer we offer! Not for ease that prayer shall be

Author: Love M. Whitcomb Willis (1859)
Published in 234 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

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 (1859)
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 (201 - 234 of 234)

The Middlesex Hymn Book #d22

The Milton Hymnal #d37

The New Alphabetical Hymnal #d80

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The New Cokesbury Hymnal #130

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The New English Hymnal #357

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The New Laudes Domini #883

The Pean #d17

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The People's Hymn Book #81

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The Pilgrim Hymnal #231

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The Pilgrim Hymnal #410

The Praise Hymnal #395

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The Psalms of Life #285

The Public School Hymnal, for the Use of High Schools and Seminaries. New and enl. ed. #d49

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The Public School Hymnal #142

The Saints' Harp #d249

The Saints' Hymnal #d77

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The School Hymnary #131

The Service of Praise #d78

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The Seventh-Day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book #1061

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The Smaller Hymnal #325

Text

The Song Book of the Salvation Army #570

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The Students' Hymnal #52

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The Sunday School Hymnary #328

Union Hymnal for Jewish Worship #d36

Union Hymnal, Songs and Prayers for Jewish Worship. 3rd ed. Revised and enlarged. #42

Union Songster #15

Unitarian Service Book, and Hymns for Church and Home. Abridged ed. #d86

Unity Hymns and Chorals. Rev and enl. with Service Elements #d52

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Unity Services and Songs #S13

Universal Hymns #151

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University Hymns #142

Worship in Song #d64

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Worship Song #394

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Year of Worship for Sunday Schools and Homes #58

Pages

Exclude 198 pre-1979 instances
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