HOW sweet the hour alone with God
In earnest prayer we spend,
Alone with Him who knows our need,
As friend would plead with friend.
We tell out all our needs to Him,
Assured that He will hear:
The faintest, feeblest cry we raise
Will reach His holy ear.
No care too great, no need too small,
To Him, our Lord, to tell;
E'en though assured we are, all needs
Are known to Him so well.
Then oft from toil and conflict here
Our hearts would turn aside,
To be in company with Him
Who once for us has died.
As we in faith to Him draw nigh
And make our wishes known,
He bends His ear to hear our cry,
Though high upon the throne.
No prayer of faith will ever be
By Him, our God, unheard;
The answer's sure to come, for this
He tells us in His word.
A little while He may defer
And hold the answer back;
But come it will, the answer's sure,
Not one part will it lack.
And oft the answer does not come
In ways we're looking for,
For God would have us know that He
Has many an open door.
Sometimes He answers right away
And proves His presence nigh;
And to our troubled spirits sends
His comfort from on high.
And then, at times, before we cry
His answer has begun:
Our every need is known to Him
Long ere our course is run.
O what a God we have to trust,
The God of love and grace!
Who never fails to hear the cry
Of those who seek His face.
Then may we oft, while here we wait
To meet Him in the air,
In earnest supplication spend
That hour—the Hour of Prayer.