My Prayer…My Song…Draw Me Nearer

My Prayer…My Song…Draw Me Nearer

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. (James‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ HCSB)

Today I share another hymn I learned in Sunday School.  It seems as though we sang it every Sunday.  It was meaningful to me as a child, even though at the time I had no idea all that it really meant. But as I began to grow and mature in my faith, this hymn became part of my daily prayer life. I wasn’t concerned with Him drawing near to me…I always felt that I knew He was there in some kind of way I could not explain.  The burden was on me to draw near to Him!  I think one of the reasons I found this song so meaningful was because of its first person construct.  I took those words and made them mine…

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee.

I also liked playing this song because it was in my favorite key and the rhythm could be translated into soulful singing.  I still enjoy playing and singing this hymn.  There is nothing better than hearing a seasoned, Spirit-filled soloist pray this song.

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HOW THIS HYMN HAS SHAPED MY LIFE:
From the moment I accepted Christ as my personal Savior, I KNEW I belonged to Him and I truly believed that I had heard Him profess His love for me.  Back then I knew that John 3:16 told me that God loves “whosoever believes in Him.”  And, I always believed that whosoever had my name on it!  I, Frankye, am Thine, O, LORD…but I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to Thee.  As my faith continued to mature, the desire of my heart was to increase in faith and live so close to Him that I could feel Him breathe on me.  I wanted everything I did to please Him!  BUT I was still far from it…

Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.

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Becoming a mother was the greatest responsibility God has given me.  Later becoming a single mother was an even greater responsibility.   But where motherhood and single-parenting are concerned, this, I believe, is my life’s greatest purpose.   I asked God to consecrate me to serve, nurture, and bring these lives that He had entrusted to my care to the fullness of His plan for them when He created them.  As I began to fully grasp His grace, looking up in hope to Him and surrendering my will to His, became priorities in my life.  Did I do that perfectly?  Was I the perfect mother?  The perfect single parent?  The perfect grace-filled follower of Jesus that I desired to be?   No, no, no, no…

Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!

It was during those times of trying to fulfill this particular responsibility He had given me that I discovered just how badly I needed to stay close to Him.  He had trusted ME to do the job of two people, but I believe it was because He KNEW His Holy Sprit would always be at my beck and call!  And He knew I would holler for help!  It was during these years that I realized just how serious this hymn and this scripture were to my life and its fruit. I very quickly found I needed to be in constant communion with Him EVERY DAY!  My pastor’s wife at the time was one who had established a practice that lasted her whole life.  She sometimes referred to it as  “goin’ down in knee-bone valley.”  We often spoke of it as “quiet time”–an appointment that we had every day that could not be cancelled.  And, even though we frequently shared quiet times, she taught me the importance of the pure delight of that single hour…half hour…three hours…15 minutes…spent consciously aware of His Presence with our minds “stayed on Him!”   Spending time with Him like we spent with one another…friend communing with friend.  

There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.

I sincerely believe that the practice of spending time with Christ everyday keeps me aware of His Presence all day long.  We have no real need to invoke His Presence–He is here before we get there–we just need to ask to realize and acknowledge His Awesome Presence!

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How different our lives would be if we were consciously aware of the Presence of the Almighty with us all day long.  Little did I know that this practice begun so long ago would carry me through many a day ahead. Later on the journey, God entrusted me with more responsibility for the sake of His Kingdom.  You see, He had been preparing me with those three awesome gifts He had given me for an even more difficult (at least it seemed that way to me) responsibility.  I had experienced the “call to ministry” at age 15, and had not a clue what it meant. The church of my upbringing clarified it for me;  “a call to healthcare  and music,” which I did for twenty plus years and tried my best to do as unto the LORD.  By the time I was 39-40, I began struggling with something that had come up in one of my quiet times and seemed to come up everywhere I turned.  After much struggle and prayer, I heard God clearly (through many avenues) and this time, I said a wearied “yes” to the LORD.  Yes, it was weary!  I just gave in to what would not go away!  That weariness soon turned to great fear when I considered what it meant, but the one thing I knew is that this would draw me closer to God, if I did it God’s way.  And I was determined to do it His Way…

THE ORIGIN OF THE HYMN:  Allow me to introduce you to my Sacred Music Professor in Divinity School, C. Michael Hawn, a great man of God, blessed with  spiritual gifts and talents that he uses for the sake of the Body of Christ. I remember the days singing with the Seminary Singers under his capable and Spirit-led direction; I so appreciate the memories of how he cared about the applicable meaning of every song we sang.  Click here to read Dr. Hawn’s account:  History of Hymns

What I can tell you nearly 30 years later is that the weary “yes,” has given me many of those times when He was so close I could literally feel Him breathe on me.  Those times usually came after times of great trial and turmoil while trying to be “as Christ” to all kinds of diverse people at different levels of spiritual maturity.  That weariness was transformed into “joy unspeakable.”

Weariness turned to Joy?  In every responsibility He has ever given me!  My three children, awesome people, are very different personalities–having the opportunity to live in the house with them and they with me, sometimes enduring great struggle, drew us all nearer to Christ.  Likewise, many of the people I have served have been awesome and we have all been drawn nearer to Christ by the journey we shared.  I think it all stems from the bountiful grace of drawing near to God that we have been given.  Are you a single parent today, struggling to try to give your children your very best?  Trying to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the LORD?”  Are you weary of the world’s pull on them?  Ask God to draw you nearer…

Pastor, are you growing weary of the complacency and downright sin that plagues the Church?  Do you feel like giving up?  Ask God to draw you nearer…

My “knee-bone valley friend,” in her final months on planet earth, often spoke of sliding down the streets of gold when she arrived in Gloryland;  I envision it being like a child with a new bike or skateboard; that image of her comforts me everytime I start to lament her absence.  Fanny Crosby envisioned it as love and joy which none of us here on earth can know.  

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