Lynne Baab

Draw near: Praying to the gracious, tender, truthful Spirit

Lynne Baab • Tuesday October 25 2022

Imagine that you feel called to be a minister. You train for it and take a position in a church. You struggle with ill health for a lot of your life, serving a church for a while and then withdrawing to cope with illness. What might you ask for from the Holy Spirit?

Rev. Thomas Lynch (1818-1871), a minister in England whose health impeded his ministry, wrote two dozen hymns that were published in various hymnbooks in the 1800s. I am not familiar with any of them except one specifically addressed to the Holy Spirit. I have loved this hymn for several decades, and it has shaped what I ask for from the Holy Spirit. Rev. Lynch wrote six verses, but only four of them made it into the hymn book where I learned this hymn. As I looked online for information about this hymn, I met verses four and five for the first time.

As you read the poetry written by Rev. Lynch, pay careful attention to the attributes of the Holy Spirit he mentions, and then how he builds a prayer out of each one. Image how these attributes might be relevant to someone who struggles with balancing ill health and a call to pastoral ministry.

Gracious Spirit, dwell with me—
I myself would gracious be,
And with words that help and heal
Would Thy life in mine reveal;
And with actions bold and meek
Would for Christ my Savior speak.

Truthful Spirit, dwell with me—
I myself would truthful be;
And with wisdom kind and clear
Let Thy life in mine appear;
And with actions brotherly
Speak my Lord’s sincerity.

Tender Spirit, dwell with me—
I myself would tender be;
Shut my heart up like a flower,
In temptation’s darksome hour;
Open it when shines the sun,
And his love by fragrance own.

Silent Spirit, dwell with me—
I myself would quiet be,
Quiet as the growing blade
Which through earth its way has made;
Silently, like morning light,
Putting mists and chills to flight.

Mighty Spirit, dwell with me—
I myself would mighty be;
Mighty so as to prevail
Where unaided man must fail;
Ever by a mighty hope,
Pressing on and bearing up.

Holy Spirit, dwell with me—
I myself would holy be;
Separate from sin, I would
Choose and cherish all things good;
And whatever I can be
Give to Him who gave me Thee!
—Thomas Lynch, 1855 (you can listen to the hymn here)

Rev. Lynch’s six words to describe the Holy Spirit – and what he asks for – are: gracious, truthful, tender, silent, mighty, and holy. I want to comment on each of those characteristics, but not in the same order as the hymn.

Mighty. As I wrote about last week, some contemporary praise songs focused on the Holy Spirit emphasize the Spirit’s wild and unexpected power. The word “mighty” in verse five stands in that tradition to some extent, but Rev. Lynch is asking for the mighty Spirit to help him prevail, “pressing on and bearing up,” the power to obey and follow Jesus.

Truthful and gracious. I also wrote last week about the picture of the Holy Spirit in John 14 and 16. Both chapters refer to the Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of truth” (John 14:17 and 16:13 ), and there is an additional reference to the “Spirit of truth” in John 15:26. This hymn gives us words to ask the Holy Spirit to help us be truthful (verse two). I like the reference to wisdom as “kind and clear,” and I like the idea that I might “speak my Lord’s sincerity” with “actions brotherly.” In this age where competing truths are wielded aggressively and divisively, it feels refreshing to ask the Holy Spirit to help us speak kind and sincere wisdom in a brotherly or sisterly way. The opening verse, focused on the graciousness of God’s Spirit, mentions actions “bold and meek,” coupling bold truth-telling with kindness.

Tender and silent. I also love the idea of asking the Holy Spirit to help me be tender, or perhaps remain tender, carefully protected like a closed flower when times are challenging (verse three). I often feel I am too sensitive, and a closed flower is a perfect metaphor to pray for God’s protection from forces that want to rob my tenderness. Rev. Lynch uses another plant metaphor in verse four, asking that we might be “quiet as the growing blade.” His metaphor in the last two lines of verse four is powerful. He asks that we might be like the morning light that puts “mists and chills to flight.”

Holy. In the final verse we ask for holiness, that we might “choose and cherish all things good.” The wording of the last two lines of the hymn is awkward. Rev. Lynch refers to the One “who gave me Thee” – meaning the one who gave us the Holy Spirit – and I wonder if he meant the God the Father or Jesus the Son. In various biblical passages both of these persons of the Trinity are described as sending the Holy Spirit. Either way, the last two lines of the hymn reinforce that the Holy Spirit’s job is to help us glorify God, to give “whatever I can be” to the God who made us, redeemed us, and loves us beyond our imagination.

All six of these Holy Spirit characteristics mirror the character of Jesus, who of course reflects the nature of his Father. In John 14 and 16, Jesus teaches us that the Holy Spirit will remind us of Jesus’ words, helping us remember who Jesus was and is. See last week’s post for Jesus’ words about the Holy Spirit, showing how closely the Holy Spirit is connected to our loving Lord. One God in three persons.

(Next week: Fragrance/perfume. Illustration by Dave Baab. If you’d like to receive an email when I post on this blog, sign up below under “subscribe.”)

Some previous posts about God’s grace:

• God’s grace in Ephesians 2
• Partners in experiencing God’s grace
• God’s grace as a lifeline

Lynne M. Baab, Ph.D., is an author and adjunct professor. She has written numerous books, Bible study guides, and articles for magazines and journals. Lynne is passionate about prayer and other ways to draw near to God, and her writing conveys encouragement for readers to be their authentic selves before God. She encourages experimentation and lightness in Christian spiritual practices. Read more »

Lynne is pleased to announce the release of her two 2024 books, both of them illustrated with her talented husband Dave's watercolors. She is thrilled at how good the watercolors look in the printed books, and in the kindle versions, if read on a phone, the watercolors glow. Friendship, Listening and Empathy: A Prayer Guide guides the reader into new ways to pray about the topics in the title. Draw Near: A Lenten Devotional guides the reader to a psalm for each day of Lent and offers insightful reflection/discussion questions that can be used alone or in groups. 

Another recent book is Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian  Life, available in paperback, audiobook, and for kindle. Lynne's 2018 book is Nurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care for the Twenty-First Century, and her most popular book is Sabbath-Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest (now available as an audiobook as well as paperback and kindle). You can see her many other book titles here, along with her Bible study guides.

You can listen to Lynne talk about these topics: empathy, bringing spiritual practices to life. Sabbath keeping for recent grads., and Sabbath keeping for families and children.

Lynne was interviewed for the podcast "As the Crow Flies". The first episode focuses on why listening matters and the second one on listening skills. 

Here are two talks Lynne gave on listening (recorded in audio form on YouTube): Listening for Mission and Ministry and Why Listening Matters for Mission and Ministry.

"Lynne's writing is beautiful. Her tone has such a note of hope and excitement about growth. It is gentle and affirming."
— a reader

"Dear Dr. Baab, You changed my life. It is only through God’s gift of the sabbath that I feel in my heart and soul that God loves me apart from anything I do."
— a reader of Sabbath Keeping