CHRISTIAN LIFE >> MEDITATION AND PRAYER
SDAH 488
At first I prayed for light:
Could I but see the way,
How gladly, swiftly would I walk
To everlasting day!
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For Worship Leaders
Make each hymn more meaningful with these helpful tools: Short, ready-to-use hymn introductions for church bulletins, multiple ways to introduce a hymn based on your worship theme and in-depth history and insights to enrich your song service.
Hymn Spotlight: At First I Prayed for Light
Written by Edna Dow Cheney, this hymn beautifully reflects a growing spiritual journey in prayer. It begins with a plea for light to see the Christian path, then moves to a request for strength to walk it, and faith for protection along the way. Finally, it reaches the highest petition—love—which encompasses all the earlier requests. Set to the tune WOOLWICH by Charles Edward Kettle, it reminds us that as we grow in Christ, our prayers deepen from seeking guidance to desiring the very heart of God, whose love empowers every step of our walk with Him.
📖 Reference: Feel free to share but please cite hymnsforworship.org when reproducing.
Introductions for Sabbath School Song Service (based on specific lesson quarterlies):
These words are an excellent example of progression in thought in the requests that are often made in prayer. The hymn was written by Edna Dow Cheney, née Littehale (1824-1904), a social worker of Boston and Jamaica Plains, Massachusetts. She asks first for light to show the Christian pathway, then for strength to walk in this way, then for faith in God for protection along this way. The larger prayer for love proved to be one that comprehended the previous three requests.
WOOLWICH, composed by Charles Edward Kettle, is named after the London district of Woolwich, where he was an organist. He also served as organist in Brighton, Sussex, and published Kettle’s Tune Book, which included chants, tunes, and pianoforte pieces. Kettle was born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, on March 28, 1833, and died at Hove, adjacent to Brighton, Sussex, on March 2, 1895.
📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.
Text
1
At first I prayed for light:
Could I but see the way,
How gladly, swiftly would I walk
To everlasting day!
2
And next I prayed for strength:
That I might tread the road
With firm, unfaltering feet, and win
The heaven’s serene abode.
3
And then I asked for faith:
Could I but trust my God,
I’d live infolded in His peace,
Though foes were all abroad.
4
But now I pray for love:
Deep love to God and man;
A living love that will not fail,
However dark His plan.
5
And light and strength and faith
Are opening everywhere!
God waited patiently until
I prayed the larger prayer.
Hymn Info
Biblical Reference
(c) Luke 17:5 (d) 1 John 4:7
Author
Mrs. E.D. Cheney (1824-1904)
Hymn Tune
WOOLWICH
Metrical Number
S.M.
Composer
C.E. Kettle (1833-1895)
