Dear God, I used to sing these three songs to my children at bedtime when they were little. I just want to sing them to you by typing out all of their lyrics before I go to be tonight.
“I Will Sing” by Rich Mullins
I will sing for the meek
For those who pray
With their very lives for peace
Though they’re in chains
For a higher call
Their mourning will change in laughter
When the nations fall
In spirit poor, In mercy rich
They hunger for your righteousness
Their hearts refined into purity
Lord, let me shine for them
Lord, let me sing
Lord, let me shine for them
Lord, let me sing
“First Family” by Rich Mullins
My folks they were always
The first family to arrive
Seven people jammed into a car
That seated five
There was one bathroom
To bathe and shave in
Six of us stood in line
And hot water for only three
But we all did just fine
Talk about your miracles
Talk about your faith
My dad he could make things grow
Out of Indiana clay
Mom could make a gourmet meal
Out of just cornbread and beans
And they worked to give faith hands and feet
But somehow gave it wings
I can still hear my dad cussin’
He’s working late out in the barn
The spring plantings are coming
And the tractors just won’t run
Mom, she’s done the laundry
I can see it waving on the line
Now they’ve stayed together
Through pain and the strain of those times
Talk about your miracles
Talk about your faith
My dad he could make things grow
Out of Indiana clay
Mom could make a gourmet meal
Out of just cornbread and beans
And they worked to give faith hands and feet
But somehow gave it wings
Now they’ve raised five children
But one winter they lost a son
But the pain didn’t leave them crippled
Only scars that made them strong
Never picture perfect
Just a plain man and his wife
Who somehow knew the value
Of hard work, good love, and real life
Talk about your miracles
Talk about your faith
My dad he could make things grow
Out of Indiana Clay
Mom could make a gourmet meal
Out of just cornbread and beans
And they worked to give faith hands and feet
But somehow gave it wings
“The Love of God” by Rich Mullins
There’s a wideness in God’s mercy
I cannot find in my own
And it keeps this fire burning
To melt this heart of stone
Keeps me aching with the yearning
Keeps me glad to have been caught
In the reckless raging fury
That they call the love of God
I have seen no band of angels
But I’ve heard the soldiers’ song
Love hangs over them like a banner
Love within them leads them on
To the battle on the journey
And it’s never gonna stop
Ever widening their mercy
And the fury of His love
Oh, the love of God!
Oh, the love of God!
The love of God!
Joy and sorrow are this ocean
It’s in their every ebb and flow
Now, the Lord a door has opened
That all hell could never close
Here I’m tested and made worthy
Tossed about, yet lifted up
In the reckless raging fury
That they call the love of God
Father, I pray these songs over my wife, me, our children, and their significant others tonight.
Under your gracious authority I pray,
Amen