PrayerThots Devotional

Jesus Paid It All

Backgrounder: What do you do
when pastor rambles on too long?
Elvina Hall wrote a hymn (1865).
Seated in the choir loft at the
Monument Street Meth Church of
Baltimore, she wrote the stanzas
on the flyleaf of the hymnal.
The composer of the well-known
tune was John Crape,the organist
and choir director of the church.
He had called the tune “All to
Christ I Owe”. His wife like it but
no one seemed to. It was the
pastor George Schrick who put
the words and tune together,
and she added the chorus
to fit with his tune title.
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 25)”

Alas & Did My Saviour Bleed
(At the Cross)

Backgrounder: Isaac Watts
(d1748) was an English Christian
minister, hymn writer & theologian.
He was a prolific and popular
hymn writer and was credited
with some 750 hymns. This hymn
in particular has touched the hearts of millions through the centuries.
After drawing the start contrasts
between the sacrificial death
of the mighty Maker and the
unworthiness of the sinful creature,
he concludes with consecration:
Here Lord, I give myself away,
’tis all that I can do.
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 24)”

Thy Word

Backgrounder: Amy Grant and
Michael Smith wrote this hymnal
song in 1984. Michael came up
with the melody & some words for
the chorus straight from David’s
Psalms about being a light into
my path. But as Michael had
no idea what the verses were
supposed to say, he gave it to
Amy & told her to finish the tune.
So that night she starts walking
back to her cabin,” Michael said.
Caribou Ranch is 8,000 acre and
it’s very dark, And she got lost.
There’s bears & that sort of thing.
“She finally saw a lamp & started
walking towards that light, didn’t
realize that that was her cabin,”
he continued. “And she walked
into that little cabin and sat down
with a notebook and pen and
wrote the verses to ‘Thy Word.'”
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 23)”

Pitfalls of Life & Wisdom
(Prayer Walk thro Prov 5-9)

Backgrounder: The purpose
of Proverbs is to teach people
how to apply wisdom to daily
life & to provide moral instruction.
Beginning with chapter 5, Solomon
turns from a general appeal to
a more specific application of
wisdom in everyday situations.
Pitfalls abounds, ready to destroy
the unwary: immorality, laziness,
indebtedness, falsehood, pride.
Indulging in these sins is a sure
invitation to disaster. Temptation
tho alluring can lead to deadly
consequences. Don’t listen to its
call! Rather respond to the call of
wisdom, which among its benefits
is the favour of the Lord (Prov 8:35)
Continue reading “Praying Thro Proverbs (Oct 22)”

Fear of the Lord
(Prayer Walk thro Prov 1-4)

Backgrounder: The purpose
of Proverbs is to teach people
how to attain wisdom, discipline
and a prudent life, and how to
do what is right, just and fair.
In short, to apply wisdom to daily
life & to provide moral instruction.
The theme is: The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom
and knowledge (Prov 1:7).
Continue reading “Praying Thro Proverbs (Oct 21)”

Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God

Backgrounder: Karen Lafferty:
I was raised in a Christian home,
but like many young people
I wanted to discover life and did
some drifting. I was working as
a nightclub entertainer in New
Orleans when a friend visited me
& got me back on the right track.
After that I began to write Christian
songs. It was back in 1971. I had
quit my entertainment job and
was trying to support myself with
teaching guitar lessons to three
students! When my savings were
all gone and I had no money to
make my car payments, I became
very discouraged and confused.
One evening I went to a Bible study
and we talked about Matthew 6:33.
I was tremendously encouraged
and challenged by the words.
So I went home, wrote the tune,
recorded it on a tape recorder.
I taught the song at church the next
week and it caught on right away.
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 20)”

Jesus Calls Us

Backgrounder: Cecil Alexander
(1818-1895) was the wife of a
parish minister in an impoverished
rural area of Northern Ireland.
She loved the people. From
one house to another she went,
wrote one historian. She especially
loved children and most of her
hymns were written for them.
Jesus Calls Us was one of the
few hymns she wrote for adults,
and it illustrates her ability to
apply scripture devotionally.
She wrote the hymn at her
husband’s request to accompany
a sermon he was preaching about
the calling of Peter and Andrew
by Jesus on the shores of Galilee.
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 19)”

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

Backgrounder: The author of the
original German text is Joachim
Neander (1650-1680), who studied
theology in Bremen. Neander’s
life was tragic – a life of great
potential cut short by tuberculosis.
However, he wrote 60 hymns.
“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”
is based on Psa 103 & 150. It was
also inspired by the beauty of
the hills and rivers that Neander
experienced on his walks
through the German countryside.
We owe a debt of gratitude
to Catherine Winkworth, who
translated this and other German
hymns during the 19th century.
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 18)”

Here I Am Lord

Backgrounder: When The United
Methodist Hymnal was published
in 1989, one of the most popular
hymns was Here I Am, Lord (1981)
by Daniel Schutte (b. 1947). Many
Protestants are unaware that this
hymn represents Roman Catholic
renewal music resulting from the
2nd Vatican Council (1962-1965).
Schutte is a native of Wisconsin.
He received his master of divinity
degree in 1979 at the Jesuit
School of Theology, Berkeley.
Following graduation, Mr. Schutte
served as the director of liturgy
at Marquette Univ (1982-1986)
and then entered parish ministry
in two Milwaukee parishes.
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 17)”

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Backgrounder: Robert Robinson
(1735-1790) had always been
prone to wander. Apprenticed to
a barber at 14, he spent more time
playing with frnds than cutting hair.
Then as a wild youth that came to
repentance listening to a George
Whitefield sermon. He became a
pastor and wrote a couple of hymns
Come Thou Fount was written in
1757, inspired possibly by 1Sam 7.
Later in life he wandered from the
Lord and felt he could not return.
But he met a lady in a coach who
shared the hymn Come Thou Fount
to him. He replied: I’m the unhappy
man who wrote the hymn years ago
and I would give a thousand worlds
to enjoy the feelings I had then.”
She responded by telling him:
“Sir, the ‘streams of mercy’ are
still flowing.” And he repented.
Continue reading “Prayer Thot for the Day (Oct 16)”