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Advent Hymnals

Church Hymnal 65

Prayer Is the Soul's Sincere Desire

Words: James MontgomeryMusic: [unclear]Tune: [unclear]C.M.

Studio

1Prayer is the soul's sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.

2Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,
The upward glancing of an eye
When none but God is near.

3Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high.

4Prayer is the Christian's vital breath,
The Christian's native air,
His watchword at the gates of death;
He enters heaven with prayer.

5O Thou by whom we come to God,
The Life, the Truth, the Way,
The path of prayer Thyself hast trod:
Lord, teach us how to pray.

Music
[unclear]
Tune
[unclear]
Also sung to
Olmutz (Christ in Song #305)
Meter
C.M.
Scripture
Romans 8:26; Luke 11:1

Public Domain

The verse

Meter
9.7.8.6 · the hymnal prints C.M.
Foot
iambic (da-DUM) · 68% of beats fit
Rhyme
ABAB
Scan every line

/ stressed · ˘ unstressed · ? not in the dictionary · * a word sung short, as “heav’n”

Verse 1

Prayer is the soul's sincere desire,/˘˘/˘/˘/˘9A
Uttered or unexpressed,/˘˘????7B
The motion of a hidden fire˘/˘˘˘/˘/8A
That trembles in the breast.˘/˘˘˘/6C

Verse 2

Prayer is the burden of a sigh,/˘˘/˘˘˘/8A
The falling of a tear,˘/˘˘˘/6B
The upward glancing of an eye˘/˘/˘˘˘/8A
When none but God is near.//˘/˘/6C

Verse 3

Prayer is the simplest form of speech/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
That infant lips can try;˘/˘/˘/6B
Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
The Majesty on high.˘/˘˘˘/6B

Verse 4

Prayer is the Christian's vital breath,/˘˘/˘/˘/8A
The Christian's native air,˘/˘/˘/6B
His watchword at the gates of death;˘//˘˘/˘/8A
He enters heaven with prayer.˘/˘/˘/6B*

Verse 5

O Thou by whom we come to God,˘/˘˘˘/˘/8A
The Life, the Truth, the Way,˘/˘/˘/6B
The path of prayer Thyself hast trod:˘/˘/////8A
Lord, teach us how to pray.//˘/˘/6B

Counted by machine from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. It cannot hear emphasis or a poet’s licence, so treat it as a place to start reading, not the last word.