GHS 163 : My God, Is Any Hour So Sweet? Lyrics
GHS 163, “My God, Is Any Hour So Sweet?,” is a devotional hymn entirely dedicated to celebrating the hour of prayer. Written by Charlotte Elliott, the same poet who gave the Church “Just As I Am,” the hymn asks in its opening line whether any moment in the whole span of the day compares to that hour of coming to God’s feet in prayer. The answer across all seven stanzas is a sustained and detailed no: in prayer, strength is renewed, sins are forgiven, solitude is cheered with hope, every doubt is hushed, every fear gone, and the soul seems already in heaven.
The hymn closes with a vow that until the blissful shore is reached, no privilege will be held as dear as this one. This hymn appears as number 163 in the Gospel Hymns and Songs (GHS) collection, used in Deeper Life Bible Church and related assemblies across West Africa, where the practice of daily, fervent prayer is a cornerstone of the community’s life.
Hymn Lyrics – GHS 163: My God, Is Any Hour So Sweet?
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My God, is any hour so sweet, From blush of morn to evening star, As that which calls me to Thy feet, The hour of prayer?
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Blest be that tranquil hour of morn, And blest that hour of solemn eve, When, on the wings of prayer upborne, The world I leave.
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For then a day-spring shines on me, Brighter than morn’s ethereal glow; And richer dews descend from Thee Than earth can know.
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Then is my strength by Thee renewed; Then are my sins by Thee forgiven; Then dost Thou cheer my solitude With hope of heaven.
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No word can tell what blest relief, There for my every want I find; What strength for warfare, balm for grief; What peace of mind.
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Hushed is each doubt, gone every fear; My spirit seems in heaven to stay; And even the penitential tear Is wiped away.
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Lord, till I reach Your blissful shore, No privilege so dear shall be, As thus my inmost soul to pour In prayer to Thee.
