As I mentioned the other day, I love hymns. The hymns listed below can comfort me in those times when I am so miserable or distraught that I cannot find words to pray, but can only sob out to my Father that I am in pain. I can’t necessarily sing them at those times, of course, but I can listen to recordings or simply sit with one of my hymnals and read the words over and over. They almost become a prayer. Maybe they are a prayer.
- Abide With Me. This hymn simply recalls the presence of God in times when all other comforts are gone: “…when other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me.”
- Be Still My Soul. It’s the second verse that really comforts me in this hymn: “Be still my soul; the waves and winds still know His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.” It is a comfort knowing that there is no tempest that my Lord has not the power to calm.
- When We See Christ. This hymn reminds me that the sorrows, trials, and agonies I suffer will all make sense and will all be worth the pain when I reach Heaven and am brought into the presence of my Saviour.
- He Hideth My Soul. What could be more comforting than the reminder that my Saviour “taketh my burden away; He holdeth me up and I shall not be moved.” And the chorus “He hideth my life in the depths of His love, and covers me there with His hand.”
- We Have an Anchor. “Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?” Sometimes I do wonder, when it seems that everything is against me and I am in danger of my boat capsizing. But this hymn reminds me “…the cables, passed from His heart to mine, can defy the blast through strength divine.”
- The Solid Rock. A good reminder that Christ is the Rock on which I stand, and that any other foundation is mere sand that will wear away. “HIs oath, His covenant, His blood support me in the whelming flood. When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.”
- My Anchor Holds. Again, a reminder that I am anchored in the Rock of Christ, and nothing can overwhelm me. “…through the storm I safely ride till the turning of the tide…. By His Grace I shall not fail, for my Anchor holds. My Anchor holds.”
There are many others: I Know Whom I Have Believed, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, Like a River Glorious …. Each one has its own unique message of encouragement and strength.