Have Thine own way, Lord

I am not sure if the words of this hymn or the testimonies that followed are more beautiful. My thought is may it be true in my life. Thank you all for sharing the information about the words impact, how the songs to be sung, and history of it. May it continue to bless others.

I find words in this hymn, the most appropriate words to express myself to God, the one who created & formed me, who knows me better & what is best for me. It is a prayer of total dependency on Him when challenged with difficult situations & decisions to make.

This song always pops out of my heart/mind. I sing it automatically when I have a deep need to connect to God with all that is in me, Heart and soul. Often in the quiet preparatory moments before prayer, seeking His guidance,will and help.

In my personal prayer time the Holy Spirit brought this old hymn to my mind so I had to look up all the words not just what I remembered.

What a blessing they are.

Yea, after dedicating all you can in prayer and fasting. You will reach a point where you feel, not by my prayer nor by my fasting Lord but by Your Grace. Let Your will be done, have Thine on way. IT'S ALL I CAN SING NOW...

It came flooding my mind during devotion this morning and I could not but help search it out and sing aloud.

Christ only, always, living in me!

What about the new tune to this hymn?

This is a truly beautiful hymn of consecration before the Lord. A consecration is a voluntary offering of oneself before the Lord. It is not a promise or a vow to do better; rather it is a giving up one's futile attempts to do something for God and rather let God be the moving in us, growing in us, and using us for His Will. Just as the writer here asks to be molded, to be searched, to be filled with the Spirit of God, may we echo such a prayer - that God in us be the true master of our entire being so that we may be useful for His Will and for His glory, not our will nor our glory.

Just a note about this tune. This tune is what some may consider an "older tune" and prefer some newer tunes offered. However, though these newer tunes are valid and beautiful, there is a beauty in the original tune. One tip to musicians responsible for playing this hymn is to remember to keep this hymn in 9/4, not 6/8 or 3/4. There is the temptation to stress every 3rd beat similarly, but time signature is a critical part of the understanding the feeling in this hymn. A recommendation is to take special note of the first 3 notes of each phrase, with the following longer held notes. This will help those singing place the proper emphasis and stresses the music intends.

At 40, Adelaide Pollard was trying unsuccessfully to raise support to go to Africa as a missionary. She wondered why the Lord could so burden her with the needs of Africa, but not make it possible for her to go. During this time of discouragement, she attended a small prayer meeting where an elderly woman prayed, "Lord, it doesn't matter what You bring into our lives, just have Your way with us."

That night Pollard went home and read the story of Jeremiah's visit to the potter's house, and later that evening she wrote this hymn. She said that she had always felt the Lord was molding her and preparing her for His service. Then all of a sudden, He seemed to have deserted her.

"Perhaps," she reasoned, "my questioning of God's will shows a flaw in my life. So God decided to break me, as the potter broke the defective vessel, and then to mold my life again in His own pattern." - Great Songs of Faith by Brown & Norton