The story behind the typicals, story of the hymn sweet prayer, sweet prayer, sweet prayer of all worldly influence raise your heart to the tender Heavenly Father or how many times I had in you help in rude temptation and how many goods I received through you sweet prayer. Although we do not know the exact date on which this hymn was produced, it is estimated that it was created
in the first half of the 19th century. If we pay attention to the verses in each verse, we can see how it poses a progression that is described. The dialogue that must exist through prayer between the believer and his Heavenly father is a true classic of praise. Sweet prayer is a song that a
century and a half ago settled in the sensibility of the Christian world. It could be said that the origin of this hymn is enigmatic and mysterious at the same time, but not so. His message, which is very clear and obvious. His story can very well chart the inspiring hand of the Lord who gave him humanity a song that claims the power of prayer as a source of relief, joy and happiness. It is a composition that shows that communication with
God is indispensable in the way of salvation. One of the most widespread stories attributed the authorship to William Walford, who was an English blind craftsman, who was often invited to preach in a rural church in his native Warwick Shart, England. Walford is said to have written whole sermons in his head that he preached on Sundays. He memorized great portions of the Bible, which he quoted with incredible precision. Many even believed that the Bible had come to be memorized
completely. It is said that Thomas Salvos, an American pastor known in one thousand eight hundred forty- two to Wartford, who had just finished a poem about prayer in his mind. After he recited it in the presence of the shepherd, he asked him to write it on a paper. Three years later, Salmon sent the lyrics to The Observer in New York with the commission to publish them if he found it worthy of preservation, and so it was. The 13th of September of one thousand eight hundred forty- five. The poem
was published by the New York newspaper. The first appearance of the song in
a hymn book, though only with words. It was produced in one thousand eight hundred and fifty- nine in an edition of evangelical melodies compiled by the authors Robert Rboll and Thomas Hastings. Later, in one thousand eight hundred and sixty- one, the text came into the hands of the American composer William Barbury Batchiller, and reached its definitive format with a beautiful and harmonious melody and as if it were a right- handed pinist, sweet prayer climbed to the
ceiling of popularity and was overdressed with notoriety. Later, when it gained popularity, the subject was investigated by an endless number of hymnologists. However, despite the efforts of the scholars who analyzed its origin, no one was able to locate in England the traces of its alleged author, the blind preacher Watford.
Just vague references were collected and the riddle was never solved, but that did not prevent Limmo from moving along the path of prestige and, over time, from becoming world- class thanks to its massive dissemination in collections of religious music safely like an old Swiss watch. Sweet prayer will continue in the future, marking and remembering that the time to pray to the almighty is essential for believers
of the evangelical faith. Each of its stanzas, chained with tenderness, will outline the formula of success in the dialogue that must exist between God and men, whether to offer glorifications, make a request or simply express personal thoughts or emotions. A sweet cry, as the hymn quotes