Scripture Verse

Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth. 1 Samuel 3:10

Introduction

portrait
Josiah Carley (1996–)

Words: Jo­si­ah Car­ley, 2011.

Music: Duns­mu­ir Jo­siah Carley, 2011 (🔊 pdf nwc).

SPEAK, LORD FOR THY SERVANT HEARETH
© 2011 Josiah Carley
This hymn may be free­ly re­pro­duced or pub­lished for Chris­tian wor­ship or de­vot­ions, pro­vid­ed it is not al­tered, & this no­tice is on each co­py. All oth­er rights re­served.

It was a qui­et night, late in the ev­en­ing. Sit­ting down at my desk, I de­cid­ed to write a song ex­press­ing my fer­vent de­sire to hear the Sav­ior’s voice. Af­ter writ­ing one stan­za and set­ting it to mu­sic, I went out­side to have a few min­utes of peace­ful com­muni­on with the Lord. I gazed upon the mount­ains and the night sky; and, lift­ing my eyes toward hea­ven, softly sang the song I had just be­gun to write, for the first time. Over the next few days, I com­plet­ed the last two stan­zas.

Lyrics

Speak, Lord, for Thy ser­vant hear­eth;
Here I stand to do Thy will.
Ev’ry sin I have for­sak­en;
Come, and whis­per through the still.
What is life with­out Thy pre­sence,
Rest without Thy gen­tle word?
What is pray­er with­out Thy Spi­rit,
Which the heart of men once stirred?

Speak, Lord, for Thy ser­vant hear­eth;
Speak the word, and I’ll obey.
Through Thy pow­er I will serve Thee;
By my side for­ev­er stay.
Give me, Lord, I pray, Thy bless­ing;
Let Thy fa­vor fall on me!
Grant me faith to claim Thy pro­mise;
Life in Je­sus full and free.

Speak, Lord, for Thy ser­vant hear­eth;
Teach me how to hon­or Thee.
Day by day, mo­ment by mo­ment,
Train my heart to feel Thy plea.
Oh to walk with Thee, my Sav­ior,
Oh to grasp Thy nail-pierced hand!
Oh to live with Thee for­ev­er;
Lead me to the Prom­ised Land.