Upfront February 20, 2012 Issue

Pray it with a song

Jenny Nelles, Staff Editor

“Come into His presence with thanksgiving, / Come before Him with a song” (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 73). Sometimes music expresses the gratitude or yearning in our hearts like nothing else can. Fenella Bennetts writes in our lead article this week, “Often as we pray for healing we find that we have a need to sing, to praise God, to give thanks, to trust in God in dark times, and to rejoice when the light breaks through” (p. 6). 

Of course, the messages and tone in hymns vary. They can sound like tender lullabies, prayers of petition, or even forceful calls to “wake up!” and welcome the healing Christ. The fact that these musical pieces typically lead our thoughts back to God is an enduring concept. 

Judy Huenneke, senior research archivist at The Mary Baker Eddy Library, writes about Mary Baker Eddy and the hymns that inspired her. Some of her own poems, set to music, have inspired and healed many people since, including two writers in this issue who were helped by Hymn No. 207 in the Christian Science Hymnal, “Mother’s Evening Prayer” (see pp. 10 and 12).

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