The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
God of All Comfort
There are a few items I have been batting around in my brain regarding God’s comfort. In John 14:26-27, Jesus promised the presence of the Holy Spirit as our Comforter in His place: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
In response to both our need for the Comforter and the inner presence of the Holy Spirit as Comforter, numerous believers through history have overflowed with the artistic expression of this fact of our Christianity. Here are two highly recognizable pieces on the subject – one a prayer that resonates deeply within my own need, the other a hymn of urgent supplication – both reflecting the humble aspirations that should be found in every true servant of God:
- “I NEED THE COMFORTER” (from Robert Elmer, Piercing Heaven: Prayers Of the Puritans. Bellingham, WA, 2019. 50-51)
Blessed promise! Holy Spirit, make it happen in and upon my soul, day by day.
Bring me under the continued baptisms of your sovereign influence, and cause me to feel all the sweet anointings of the Spirit sent down upon the hearts and minds of your redeemed. These are the fruits and effects of Jesus, the promise of God the Father.
Yes, blessed Spirit, cause me to know you in your person, work, and power.
I need you day by day as my Comforter.
I need you as the Spirit of truth, to guide me into all truth. I need you as the one who reminds me of the Lord Jesus, to bring to my forgetful heart all the blessed things he has revealed to me.
I need you, as the witness of my Jesus, to testify of my wants, and of his fullness to supply.
I need you as my advocate and helper, in all my infirmities in prayer.
I need you as the deposit of the promised inheritance, that I may not faint or lack faith to hold on and hold out in every dark season.
I need you, Lord. I cannot do a moment without you, nor act in faith, nor believe a promise, nor exercise a grace, without your constant hand on my poor soul.
Come then, Lord, I beg you, and let me be brought under your unceasing baptisms. Shed abroad the love of God my Father in my heart, and direct me into the patient waiting for Jesus Christ. Amen. Robert Hawker
- “EVERY HOUR I NEED THEE” (from Great Hymns of the Faith, Grand Rapids, MI, 1968. Hymn #318 by Annie S. Hawks)
1. I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
no tender voice like thine can peace afford.
Refrain:
I need thee, O I need thee;
every hour I need thee;
O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee.
2. I need thee every hour; stay thou nearby;
temptations lose their power when thou art nigh.
3. I need thee every hour, in joy or pain;
come quickly and abide, or life is vain.
4. I need thee every hour; teach me thy will;
and thy rich promises in me fulfill.
5. I need thee every hour, most Holy One;
O make me thine indeed, thou blessed Son.
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God” (2 Cor. 1:3-4).
