GOSPEL >> INVITATION
SDAH 289
The Savior is waiting to enter your heart
Why don’t you let Him come in?
There’s nothing in this world to keep you apart
What is your answer to Him?
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For Worship Leaders
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Hymn Spotlight: The Savior Is Waiting
Written in 1958 by Ralph Carmichael during an evangelistic series in Los Angeles, this hymn of invitation echoes Paul’s plea in Ephesians 3:17. Carmichael’s simple and sincere melody, sung night after night during appeals, has now traveled the world. Let it remind us that Jesus waits patiently for each of us to open our hearts to Him.
📖 Reference: Feel free to share but please cite hymnsforworship.org when reproducing.
Introductions for Sabbath School Song Service (based on specific lesson quarterlies):
Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 3:17, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith,” is the heart of this appealing hymn of invitation. It was written in 1958 while the author, Ralph Carmichael (1927- ; see Biographies) was minister of music at the Temple Baptist Church, Los Angeles. It was used by Pastor J. Lester Harnish as a part of his call for surrender to Christ. The pair were conducting an ongoing evangelistic series, during which a ladies trio sang this appeal song every night. Carmichael says that in the 1960s the song was taken by Bob Pierce to the Orient, where it was used in choir and solo arrangement in his evangelistic meetings. From there it spread all over the world, and now is in many standard hymnbooks.
📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.
Stanza:
1 – Ephesians 3:17
2 – Colossians 1:27
R – Revelation 3:20
Text
1
The Savior is waiting to enter your heart
Why don’t you let Him come in?
There’s nothing in this world to keep you apart
What is your answer to Him?
Refrain
Time after time
He has waited before
And now He is waiting again
To see if you are willing
To open the door
Oh, how He wants to come in.
2
If you’ll take one step
Toward the Savior, my friend,
You’ll find His arms open wide.
Receive Him, and all of your darkness will end
Within your heart He’ll abide.
Hymn Info
Biblical Information
(a) Eph 3:17 (b) Col 1:27 (r) Rev 3:20
Author
Ralph Carmichael (1927-)
Copyright Information
Copyright 1958 by Sacred Songs (A Div. of Word, Inc.) All rights reserved. International copyright secured.
Hymn Tune
CARMICHAEL
Metrical Number
11.7.11.7.Ref.
Composer
Ralph Carmichael
