We have been introducing a “new” hymn, “I Asked the Lord That I Might Grow.” These lyrics were written by John Newton, author of Amazing Grace, in 1779. You may have found yourself a bit taken aback by some of the phrases of this hymn, so I wanted to give a little explanation.
The hymn tells a story, and so it’s really valuable to see all the lyrics together. The basic idea of the story is that God uses trials—including trials from our own sin—to grow us in faith and godliness. And this is a thoroughly biblical idea, as I’ll show below. The seven stanzas of the hymn are below, with some comments interspersed.
I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith and love and ev’ry grace,
Might more of His salvation know,
And seek more earnestly His face.
This is the type of prayer God would have us pray, and have us pray regularly. In Scripture, God calls us to seek such things, and gives us numerous examples of prayer for such things. Peter ends his second letter by saying, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Pet. 3:18). In Ephesians, Paul prays, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened…” (Eph. 1:17–18). It is easy to only focus our prayers on relief from trouble or guidance in uncertainty, and such prayers are warranted; but as we come to see God’s glory and God’s purposes for us, our prayers should increasingly aim for growth “in faith and love and ev’ry grace.”
‘Twas He who taught me thus to pray,
And He, I trust, has answered prayer,
But it has been in such a way
As almost drove me to despair.
I hoped that in some favored hour
At once He’d answer my request
And, by His love’s constraining pow’r,
Subdue my sins and give me rest.
Surely you know this experience: You pray for something like faith or patience or contentment and you hope that God just automatically “downloads” this growth into you, without anything needed on your part, so you can get on with your life. But this rarely, if ever, seems to be the case. More often, “But it has been in such a way, As almost drove me to despair.” If you have sought the Lord for any length of time, surely you know this experience as well: “God, that is not what I had in mind when I prayed. What are you doing?! Where are you?! Why are you allowing this to happen to me?!”
Instead of this, He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart
And let the angry pow’rs of hell
Assault my soul in ev’ry part.
Yea, more with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe,
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Humbled my heart and laid me low.
These two stanzas can be quite shocking. Perhaps you even wondered, “Is this a right way to think about God? Would God “let the angry pow’rs of hell, Assault my soul in ev’ry part”? We see God doing this very thing at least twice in Scripture. The story of Job in the OT gives us a picture of this. The story gives us an exchange between God and Satan concerning a man Job, who “was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (1:1). At the beginning of the story, we hear God say to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand” (1:12). And then we read about the “angry pow’rs of hell assault(ing) his soul,” taking away his children and property, and bringing great infliction on his health.
In the NT, we see something similar in the life of Paul, and this gives us more insight into God’s will and purposes in this. Probably the best passage for understanding this hymn is 2 Corinthians 12:1-11, and I would imagine this was on Newton’s mind when he wrote it. Paul writes,
So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor. 12:7-11)
Paul receives this “thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan,” which harasses him. And yet it is clear from the context that this “messenger of Satan” is “given” by God! The word “given” implies this, as does the reason it was given: “to keep me from becoming conceited.” Surely, the Devil does not have this purpose for Paul! This is God’s purpose, and he will even (in ways we can’t fully understand) use Satan to accomplish it. While such a realization might surprise us, there is in fact a comfort in this: Satan can only do as much, go as far as God permits. And for God’s people, Satan’s efforts can only work for their good, and God’s glory! With Paul, God is using various means, including this “messenger of Satan”–which is really “harass”ing him!—to keep him from becoming conceited, and to teach him to be “content” and boast in the Lord.
Beyond these to examples that clearly mention Satan, there are numerous Scriptures that tell us God intends for us to grow in faith and godliness, in part, through trials and suffering. Peter writes,
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Pet. 1:6-7)
Hebrews 12, citing Proverbs 3, says,
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.” (Heb. 12:5-6)
And there are many more examples that shed great light on God’s purposes for our suffering (James 1:2-3, Romans 5:3-5, 1 Peter 4:12-19). The hymn then concludes:
“Lord, why is this,” I trembling cried;
“Wilt Thou pursue Thy child till death?”
“’Tis in this way,” the Lord replied,
“I answer prayer for grace and faith.”
“These inward trials I employ
From self and pride to set thee free
And break thy schemes of earthly joy
That thou might find thy all in Me.”
The last stanza again echoes God’s purposes for Paul in 2 Corinthians 12: “to keep me from becoming conceited.” Surely, such purposes are at the very heart of what God desires and intends to do in his people, in this life of sin and suffering: “From self and pride to set thee free, And break thy schemes of earthly joy, That thou might find thy all in Me.”
God desires and intends for us to be increasingly content in his grace, and in himself. And the truth is, in this life, we will not just slide into that, it will not just happen naturally, like gravity pulling you down a water slide. Such contentment and growth is going to take a work of God, and, it would seem, such work is often most effective and mighty by means of “trials of various kinds” (James 1:2).
As we continue to sing this hymn, I hope that you are equipped to see the trials in your life in light of God’s purposes, and even if through such trials, to pray that you would grow “In faith and love and ev’ry grace, Might more of His salvation know, And seek more earnestly His face.”