Hymns that are Prayers to Jesus 07/22/2011
I've heard some Christians say that it is inappropriate to pray to Jesus. One of the papers on this website refutes that claim. Following is a brief excerpt from that paper: If it were wrong to pray to Jesus (and the Spirit), it would be wrong to sing many of the hymns in our songbooks. Having gone through about ½ of a hymnbook I have, I discovered many songs we should take out if it is wrong to pray to Jesus and the Spirit. Below are some examples of these songs (with their “offending” text). Love Divine All Loves Excelling …Jesus, Thou art all compassion; Pure, unbounded love Thou art. Visit us with Thy salvation; Enter every trembling heart. Jesus, Lover of My Soul …let me to thy bosom fly …Hide me, O my Savior, hide …Oh, receive my soul at last! More Love to Thee …O Christ, more love to Thee! Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee. This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee. Close to Thee Thou, my everlasting portion, More than friend or life to me, All along my pilgrim journey, Savior, let me walk with Thee. Close to Thee… My Jesus, I Love Thee …I know Thou art mine. For Thee all the follies of sin I resign. My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou. If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now. My Faith Looks Up to Thee …Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine! Now hear me while I pray; Take all my guilt away. Oh, let me from this day Be wholly Thine! Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire …Let us Thine influence prove: Source of the old prophetic fire. Fountain of life and love. CommentsTroy Burns 12/06/2011 10:03
I totally agree with you Dr. Bird that we should pray to Jesus. I really like that you used the example of hymns. So much theology is conveyed in hymns. And as you have shown that theology is one that teaches us to pray to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit as well. Good Stuff! Aaron Sink 12/07/2011 18:20
The Catechism for Children is a wonderful section, I really like it. In fact it may be good for adults too! Aaron Sink 12/07/2011 18:27
The links for sites about Apologetics is a great resource for interested persons. Nate Kennedy 12/12/2011 10:46
Dr. Bird, Derrick Trent 12/15/2011 18:48
It seems those who wrote these hymns knew something about praying to Jesus and the Spirit that Christians who say it is inappropriate do not know. Or perhaps those Christians have never thought about what these hymns are actually saying. Great job pointing out that these are indeed prayers to Jesus and the Spirit! Paul L 04/30/2012 07:40
These hymns are beautiful expressions of Christians prayers to Jesus through the centuries. Dr. Bird made a very convincing case in his paper "Should we pray to Jesus?" that this is definitely a biblical practice. As we see in these hymns, it is also a very prevalent practice in the Church's history. Art Perkins 05/01/2012 09:29
Totally agree! We cannot neglect the divinity of Christ. Nate Kennedy 05/04/2012 17:52
Imagine someone saving your life when you could do nothing to save yourself, and then refusing to talk to that person or thinking that it was inappropriate to do so. If it was inappropriate to pray to the very One who gave His life for us in the ultimate act of love, there is something very wrong here. A solid relationship by nature requires 2-way communication, and Jesus wants to have that kind of relationship with every one of us. Leave a Reply |
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