Whatever
she felt, she didn’t want the life of ease, if we can take the words she
crafted in the mid-19th Century as an accurate portrayal of her
emotions. Her name was Love Maria Whitcomb Willis, and she wrote out a prayer
in 1856 with words one often does not hear someone vocalize when lifting a request
heavenward. How did she come to that place, circumstantially, when she said “Father,
Hear the Prayer We Offer”? Knowing her background and what other pursuits she
had, and whom she married some two years after she wrote these words, provides
some valuable insight into Love’s motivation. It might make you ask yourself
about how intently you pray to your Creator. Do you think He’s actually listening
and responding in tangible ways? If you had known Love Maria Whitcomb (later
Willis) in 1856, you might have said her answer to that question was an unequivocal
‘yes’.
Love
Whitcomb was the 32-year old daughter of a Unitarian minister in 1856, so it
was logical for her to have an inclination to pray. The events that would
transpire in the next several years also casts some light upon what she might
have been thinking when she wrote out her five-verse poem. As a Unitarian, Love
would have grown up watching and participating in prayer in the worship
services where her father ministered. By the time she was 32, perhaps in the
Boston area, it wasn’t clear if she had already known the Dr. Frederick Willis
that she would marry two years hence, since he was apparently a divinity
student at Harvard at that time. But, two other facts in her own life and his
shed more light on “Father, Hear the Prayer…”: She would become the editor of
the well-known Spiritualist journal The
Banner of Light, and Frederick would also become intrigued by the Spiritualist
movement and eventually became a minister in this sect later after they married,
in the western New York state region. Spiritualists who read the weekly journal
that Love edited believed mediums (through a séance) could contact and converse
with the dead. Other newsworthy items, including sermons and book reviews, occupied
the journal’s pages, but the reports of contact with the spirit world were the
centerpiece of its existence. So, when Love composed her poem in 1856, was this
her own form of spirit-world contact? And, noting what she asked God to do in
her prayer is somewhat illuminating. She must have believed that hers and
others’ lives could be expected to endure hardship – and she does not ask for
relief from that. Four of her five verses indicate she wanted only His presence
to strengthen her. Divine presence and guidance via contact with another realm
was what she sought, not ease (v. 1), green pastures (v.2), nor still waters
(v.3). ‘Father, hear…’, may have been only her opening line in communication
with Him. She probably expected answers in return, if her work with The Banner of Light is a window onto her
beliefs.
From
whom would I most like to hear, if I could contact someone on the other side of
terrestrial life? It would be very moving to talk to mom and dad, but would
that really affect me significantly – like changing my life’s direction? Remember
what Jesus said about contact with the dead in a story He told (Luke 16:19-31)?
I already have what I need to make the best choices for myself. And, I can contact someone in that other realm –
it’s called prayer. Love Willis tried it, at least once. Isn’t at least one try
worth your effort?
See the following links for scant biographic
information on the author: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/w/i/l/l/willis_lmw.htm
See the following link for all five original verses
of the song: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/f/a/t/h/fathhear.htm
Link to information about a regular publication that
the author edited: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banner_of_Light
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