Month: October 2017

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Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 11)

Onward Christian Soldiers

Backgrounder: Onward, Christian
Soldiers is a 19th-century English
hymn. The words were written
by Sabine Baring-Gould in 1865.
Gould recounts: Whitmonday is
a great day for school festivals in
Yorkshire, and one Whitmonday
it was arranged that our school
should join its forces with that of
a neighboring village. I wanted
the children to sing when
marching from one village to
the other, but couldn’t think of
anything quite suitable. So, I sat
up at night resolved to write
something myself and “Onward,
Christian Soldiers” was the result.
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 11)”

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Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 10)

Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee

Backgrounder: Henry Van Dyke
wrote this poem in 1907 while
staying at the home of Williams
College president Harry Garfield.
He was serving as a guest preacher
at Williams in Berkshire Mountains
of Massachusetts at the time.
He was so moved by the beauty
of God’s creation that he wrote
this hymn of joy. The next
morning he handed the poem
to the college president. Here
is hymn for you, he said. Your
mountains were my inspiration.
It must be sung to the music
of Beethoven’s Hymn to Joy.
And so it has been ever since.
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 10)”

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Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 9)

I Stand Amazed In the Presence

Backgrounder: Charles Gabriel
was born in 1856 Iowa. He is
credited with writing up to 8,000
hymns and songs in his life. Some
of his hymns include His Eye is
on the Sparrow, The Old Rugged
Cross, and Away in a Manger.
The inspiration for I Stand Amazed
in the Presence is not known, but
Gabriel wrote both the words and
melody for the song. The hymn
first appeared in 1905 Excell’s
collection. Rev. Carlton Young,
editor of The United Methodist
Hymnal, notes: “This song of
gratitude for the atoning death of
Jesus is a personal interpretation
of Luke’s account of Jesus’
sweating blood in the Garden
of Gethsemane, a portion of
the passion narrative not
included in the other gospels.
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Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 8)

Jehoshaphat’s Reforms
(Prayer Walk thro 2 Chron 17-20)

Backgrounder: Jehoshaphat
knows the key to spiritual revival
in the nation is a renewed interest
in and commitment to the law of
the Lord. He institutes a nation-
wide “Bible study program”, an
effort which God richly blesses
with peace and prosperity.
In contrast to his predecessors,
Jehoshaphat manages to make
peace with the king of Israel. But
a friendly visit nearly costs him
his life as he becomes entangled
in a war between Israel and Syria.
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Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 6)

I Love to Tell the Story

Backgrounder: Katherine Hankey
(1834-1911) the daughter of a
prosperous British banker, grew
up in a stylish London suburb.
In her twenties, she started Bible
classes for factory girls. When
she was in her thirties, Kate
became seriously ill and doctors
said she needed a year of rest.
During her recovery, she wrote
two poems. The first became
the hymn: Tell me the Old Old
Story. The second written 10
months later became: I Love to
Tell the Story. She soon returned
to her Bible classes in London and
continued teaching for many years.
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 6)”