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Draw near: Praying to the Holy Spirit

Lynne Baab • Tuesday October 18 2022

I wonder how many of you remember this praise song:

Spirit of the Living God, Fall fresh on me, Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me.

In the 1980s we sang it often at church, so I assumed it came from that era. I just learned that it was written in 1926 after the author, Daniel Iverson, heard a sermon on the Holy Spirit at a revival meeting. Rev. Iverson was a Presbyterian minister who served congregations North and South Carolina and Georgia, then planted seven congregations in Miami. (You can listen to a contemporary version of his song here, with a fascinating change...

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Draw near: Praying to Jesus, our priceless treasure

Lynne Baab • Tuesday October 11 2022

Recently I’ve been looking through old songbooks. I am very fond of a 1980 praise song by John Wimber, with the opening line referring to Jesus: “Isn’t he beautiful? Beautiful, isn’t he?” I had an AHA moment recently while playing that song on the piano. The world has so much ugliness in it. What a relief to turn to Jesus who is so beautiful. We might meet him in the Bible, in song, in our prayers, in nature, or in the faces and personalities of people we love and those he loves. Jesus’ beauty is soothing and restoring. Jesus’ beauty reminds...

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Draw near: Praying to Jesus for perseverance

Lynne Baab • Tuesday October 4 2022

Jesus, good above all other, gentle child of gentle mother, in a stable born our brother, give us grace to persevere. —Percy Dearmer, 1906

I met this hymn a few weeks ago for the first time, and I was quite taken by the idea of praying to Jesus for perseverance, something I have seldom done. I habitually pray to Jesus for many things. I ask him for the patience, kindness, and boldness that characterized his life on earth as described in the Gospels. I ask him to give me clarity of purpose like he had. This hymn got me thinking about the ways Jesus persevered. Yes,...

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Draw near: To whom do we pray?

Lynne Baab • Tuesday September 27 2022

Recently I’ve been paying attention to the words of praise songs and hymns to notice to whom they are addressed. Some follow the pattern of the hymn “Praise my Soul the King of Heaven” or the praise song “10,000 Reasons” (“Bless the Lord, O my soul, worship his holy name”). This pattern, common in the psalms, calls my soul to engage in prayer. Some hymns and praise songs are descriptive, like “Amazing Grace” or “Mighty to Save” (“Savior, he can move the mountains”). Perhaps we could say they are also addressing my inner being, reminding me of who God is and...

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