DISTRACTION IN PRAYER

 

1. Ah, dearest Lord! I cannot pray,

My fancy is not free;

Unmannerly distractions come,

And force my tho'ts from Thee.

The world that looks so dull all day

Glows bright on me at pray'r,

And plans that ask no tho't but then

Wake up and meet me there.

 

2. All nature one full fountain seems

Of dreamy sight and sound,

Which, when I kneel, breaks up its deeps,

And makes a deluge round.

My very flesh has restless fits;

My changeful limbs conspire

With all these phantoms of the mind

My inner self to tire.

 

3. Sweet Jesus! teach me how to prize

These tedious hours when I,

Foolish and mute before Thy Face,

In helpless worship lie.

Yet Thou art oft most present, Lord!

In weak distracted prayer:

A sinner out of heart with self

Most often finds Thee there.

 

4. Had I kept stricter watch each hour

O'er tongue and eye and ear,

Had I but mortified all day

Each joy as it came near.

Had I, dear Lord! no pleasure found

But in the thought of Thee,

Prayer would have come unsought, and been

A truer liberty.

 

5. My Saviour! why should I complain,

And why fear aught but sin?

Distractions are but outward things;

Thy peace dwells far within.

These surface-troubles come and go,

Like rufflings of the sea;

The deeper depth is out of reach

To all, my God, but Thee.

 

 

 


Return to Home Page

上一首

下一首