What shall we ask of God in prayer?

What shall we ask of God in prayer?

Author: James Montgomery
Published in 23 hymnals

Representative Text

What shall we ask of God in prayer?
Whatever good we want;
Whatever man may seek to share,
And God in mercy grant.

68
Father of all our mercies, Thou
In whom we move and live,
Hear us in heaven thy dwelling now,
And answer and forgive.

When, bound with sins and trespasses,
From wrath we fain would flee,
Lord, cancel our unrighteousness,
And set the captive free.

When, harass'd by ten thousand foes,
Our helplessness we feel,
O God, the weary soul repose,
The wounded spirit heal,

When dire temptations gather round,
And threaten or allure,
By storm or calm, in Thee be found
A refuge strong and sure.

When age advances, may we grow
In faith, and hope, and love,
And walk in holiness below,
To holiness above.

When earthly joys and cares depart,
Desire and envy cease,
Be Thou the portion of our heart,
In Thee may we have peace.

When flames these elements destroy,
And worlds in judgment stand,
May we lift up our heads with joy,
And meet at Thy right hand.

Sacred Poems and Hymns

Author: James Montgomery

James Montgomery (b. Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, 1771; d. Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, 1854), the son of Moravian parents who died on a West Indies mission field while he was in boarding school, Montgomery inherited a strong religious bent, a passion for missions, and an independent mind. He was editor of the Sheffield Iris (1796-1827), a newspaper that sometimes espoused radical causes. Montgomery was imprisoned briefly when he printed a song that celebrated the fall of the Bastille and again when he described a riot in Sheffield that reflected unfavorably on a military commander. He also protested against slavery, the lot of boy chimney sweeps, and lotteries. Associated with Christians of various persuasions, Montgomery supported missio… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: What shall we ask of God in prayer?
Author: James Montgomery
Meter: 8.6.8.6
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

What shall we ask of God in prayer? J. Montgomery. [Prayer.] Written in 1818, and first printed on a broadsheet with Montgomery's "Prayer is the soul's sincere desire," "Lord, teach us how to pray," and "Thou, God, art a consuming fire," for use in the Nonconformist Sunday schools in Sheffield and the neighbourhood. It was included in Cotterill's Selection, 1819, No. 281, in 4 stanzas of 8 lines, and headed, "Ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be full." In Montgomery's Christian Psalmist, 1825, No. 483, and in his Original Hymns, 1853, No. 64, it was given with the change, in stanza iv., l.1 of "with" to “by”, and in 8 stanzas of 4 lines. It is usually given in an abbreviated form. In some American hymn-books a cento from this hymn is given as “Father of all our mercies, Thou."

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Timeline

Instances

Instances (1 - 23 of 23)
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A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (10th ed.) #378

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A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship. 16th ed. #378

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A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the Use of Universalist Societies and Families 16ed. #374

Boston Sunday School Hymn Book. 5th ed. #d124

Compilation of Hymns for the Use of the Churches of the Christian Union #d787

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Hymn book of the Methodist Protestant Church. (4th ed.) #358

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Hymns for Christian Melody #677

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A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion (15th ed.) #32

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A Book of Hymns for Public and Private Devotion. (10th ed.) #32

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A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship #378

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A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship (6th ed.) #378

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A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship. (3rd ed.) #378

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A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Christian Worship. (45th ed.) #378

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A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for the Sanctuary #401

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A Collection of Psalms and Hymns, for Social and Private Worship (Rev. ed. with supplement) #620

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Hymn Book of the Methodist Protestant Church #603

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Hymn Book of the Methodist Protestant Church. (11th ed.) #603

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Hymn Book of the Methodist Protestant Church. (2nd ed.) #358

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Hymns for the Christian Church, for the Use of the First Church of Christ in Boston #194

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Hymns for the Sanctuary #313

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Hymns of the Spirit #79

Text

Sacred Poems and Hymns #64

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