You help make Hymnary.org possible. More than 10 million people from 200+ countries found hymns, liturgical resources and encouragement on Hymnary.org in 2025, including you. Every visit affirms the global impact of this ministry.

If Hymnary has been meaningful to you this year, would you take a moment today to help sustain it? A gift of any size—paired with a note of encouragement if you wish—directly supports the server costs, research work and curation that keep this resource freely available to the world.

Give securely online today, or mail a check to:
Hymnary.org
Calvin University
3201 Burton Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Thank you for your partnership, and may the hope of Advent fill your heart.

Draw Near, God of Grace, We Pray (Vaa Vaa Arul Arasee)

Hymn on ONE LICENSE

Vaa Vaa Arul Arasee (Draw near, God of grace, we pray)

Author: Anonymous; Paraphraser (English): James Minchin
Tune: THEVARAM
Published in 1 hymnal


Representative Text

SINHALA -
1 Vaa Vaa Arul Arasee,
Varu sabai uru Sira see,
Theva varem arulee,
Thiruniir aathavanee.

2 Arathanai Ithilee,
Aney varum arul uravee,
Tharai unathurai yee,
Thayavodal pavanee.

3 Thuuyor tholu thidevee,
Thuyar aruvinei kedavee,
Maya thuyir urevee,
Marith thei Aarananee.

---

ENGLISH -
1 Draw near, God of grace, we pray,
let your nearness be as light of day.
Bless us on our journey's way,
unseen Lord, now with us stay!

2 While you covenant to dwell
with your Church, your Bride for good or ill,
show us how your love fulfills;
tune our hearts to seek your will.

3 Your death opened up new life;
we will follow you through pain and strife.
Cleanse the springs of our belief,
so that we bear others' grief.

Source: Sound the Bamboo: CCA Hymnal 2000 #74

Author: Anonymous

In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries. Go to person page >

Paraphraser (English): James Minchin

(no biographical information available about James Minchin.) Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Vaa Vaa Arul Arasee (Draw near, God of grace, we pray)
Title: Draw Near, God of Grace, We Pray (Vaa Vaa Arul Arasee)
Author: Anonymous
Paraphraser (English): James Minchin
Place of Origin: Sri Lanka
Language: English; Sinhala
Copyright: Public Domain

Instances in all hymnals

Instances (1 - 1 of 1)
Text

Sound the Bamboo #74

Suggestions or corrections? Contact us
It looks like you are using an ad-blocker. Ad revenue helps keep us running. Please consider white-listing Hymnary.org or getting Hymnary Pro to eliminate ads entirely and help support Hymnary.org.