Lord Jesus, I long in Thy presence to live

1
Lord Jesus, I long in Thy presence to live,
From morning to evening my one world Thou art;
O let not my heart be contented or rest
When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part.
Each moment, each day, throughout suff’ring and pain,
When nought in the world can give comfort or cheer,
When sighing and weeping encompasses me,
Lord, still all my sighing and wipe every tear.
2
Each time when I dream of the goodness of life,
I pray Thee, dear Lord, that Thou in it may be;
O do not allow me to choose by myself,
Nor seek any pleasure that’s other than Thee.
Each night when alone in the stillness I lie,
I pray Thee, Lord Jesus, that Thou wilt be near;
Each morning ere dawn comes, while still in my sleep,
Then whispering call me and open my ear.
3
Each time, Lord, when reading in Thy holy Word,
I pray that Thy glory may shine on each line,
That clearly I’ll see what a Savior I have
And how great salvation that Thou hast made mine.
When helpless I come, Lord, to kneel at Thy throne,
I pray Thee to hear me and grant me Thy grace;
If thru my shortcomings Thou hear not my prayer,
Withdraw not Thy presence, O hide not Thy face.
4
Each time when of heavenly blessings I think,
O let my heart long to be raptured to Thee;
My only hope here is Thy coming again,
My only joy there, Lord, Thy presence will be.
Lord, teach me each day in Thy presence to live,
From morning to evening my one world Thou art;
O let not my heart be contented or rest
When loving or seeking what with Thee doth part.
4
Vali Balla

Tirana, Albania

My only hope here is Thy coming again.


Jemuel S.cinso

Agusan Del Sur, Philippines

LORD help me to realize that my only hope and joy is You no matter what happens...


Karen Murray

Ann Arbor, MI, United States

Lord, teach me each day in Thy presence to live.


Oreo D.

Toronto, ON, Canada

Hi sisters and brothers! My favourite hymn was #389 (new tune) for lots of good reasons, mostly personal. My school, PCA, (the 'C' is for Christian) just ended our Spiritual Emphasis Week, SEW for short. They're big on initials at my school. SEW at PCA meant that every day at lunchtime we would have a chapel, which is like the Saturday night meetings but a lot shorter. We would sing a couple of worship songs and then listen to a speaker speak about truth.

The speaker was 19 and he was really burning in the Lord! It was crazy. I spent the first chapel staring at him going 'wow.' I always have this concept that only people I meet with are really burning...but this guy totally put me to shame. He was really burning. I wish you guys could have seen him. Just him being there was an experience. I mean, I want God to use ME like that, too! It was crazy.

Now my school is old-school Christian, which means that many times the speakers are old, boring, and rich. You can see them coming up with their Bibles and their suits and you look around for something better to do because you know you don't really want to hear about their son who's a missionary in Africa. I know I'm overgeneralizing and exaggerating, but that's what it feels like sometimes. This guy was dressed the way we WOULD have dressed if the uniform wasn't manditory. He spoke like us. He goes to a public school! He could relate to us. He was like any other 19-yr-old, except that he was burning so hard for the Lord! Those chapels were really good experiences. I re-dedicated my life to the Lord, and I realized how little dedication there ever was in my heart for Him.

All of this is to explain why I suddenly wanted to follow the Lord so much more. So when I was flipping through the binder and I glanced at this song, I realized it said exactly what I want to say. Guys, I'm not more alive or more burning than anyone else. Trust me. I know. But I want to grow here! I want to hear the Lord! I want to see Him and I want to follow Him! This is the dedication I need to have renewed every day, every hour, and so do you. This is the reason we're here, is to run after the Lord and give Him everything, they way He gave everything for us. And sometimes, all it really takes is a song. I know you guys have morning revivals....in...the mornings...so maybe, you could try declaring this song, or just one verse, sometime during your time with the Lord. Y'know? This is the kind of song that lets God speak to you, and I know I need a lot of speaking. Amen!

When we pray in our reading of the Word, we turn the verses we have read into prayer. When we pray, we must forget everything else and have only the Lord and His word. Hymns, #389 says, "From morning to evening my one world Thou art." This means that when we seek the Lord, we have only one world: "O Lord, You are my world; I seek You." When you pray a simple prayer like this, whatever you read and understand will enter into you. Once the word enters your spirit, it becomes the Spirit and life. However, if you do not pray, then the word that you read will not become the Spirit, nor will it become life.