Prayers from the Hymnal: It Is Well with My Soul

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Prayer for the Day presented by Julia Loveless, worship leader & singer-songwriter. Good morning. Horatio Spafford endured many tragedies in his life. One of the most significant, perhaps, was the loss of his four daughters who travelled ahead of him to England with his wife, Anna. After colliding with another sea vessel, the ship sank and all four girls were lost leaving Anna to send the now famous, tragic telegram “saved alone”. Hurrying to follow and be with his grieving wife, Spafford made the same crossing across the Atlantic. When they neared the place where their ship had sunk, the captain quietly made him aware they were passing over the place his daughters has been lost. And in that moment of horrendous, unreconcilable grief, his response was to start writing the hymn “It is well with my soul”. It is difficult to comprehend such faith in the face of such suffering. And yet perhaps that is precisely why this hymn has endured for generations. It does not pretend life is easy, nor does it deny the reality of sorrow. Instead, it speaks of a hope deeper than circumstance; a peace rooted not in the absence of pain, but in the presence of God through it. Yet again, then, we are forced to recognise the sheer power of hope placed somewhere beyond the chaos of this world. That in the face of such tragedy and chaos, eternal hope in Christ is the best weapon we have. So that in every season that life may throw at us, we are left with a hope that endures. “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot thou hast taught me to know, it is well, it is well with my soul.” Amen.