****SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER

William Walford was an old, blind man who owned a small novelty shop in Coleshill, England about 200 years ago. Every day he sat and whittled little trinkets and useful objects from pieces of bones that he sold in his shop.

And as he worked, he prayed, and he recited scripture. Even though he had no formal education, he had an incredible memory. He had memorized volumes of scripture that he could quote verbatim. In fact, many of his friends thought he had memorized the entire Bible.

Because he was often called to preach in a rural English church, he composed all his sermons in his head and committed them to memory. 

In 1842, an American pastor, Thomas Salmon, spent some time in Coleshill, England, where he became acquainted with William. 

He recorded this story of what happened one day, while he was visiting the blind pastor:

“…(William recited) two or three pieces (of poetry) which he had composed, and, having no friend at home to commit them to paper, he had laid them up in the storehouse within. 

“Then he asked, ‘How will this do?’ as he (recited) the lines of (another four-stanza poem).

“I rapidly wrote the lines with my pencil, as he uttered them.” 

Three years later Salmon showed it to the editor of the New York Observer and SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER was published in 1845. 

Now, that’s the story, but some mysterious doubts have been raised about the real identity of William Walford. After the poem had been set to music and became well-known, some students of hymnology tried to authenticate his authorship. They could find no one of that name who fit the description given by Salmon. They were able to locate a Rev. William Walford in a place near Coleshill, England, but he was well educated and not blind. Nevertheless, William Walford’s story and authorship are generally not disputed. 

One commenter has noted that the first stanza of this hymn reads like a good, three-point sermon outline; which would be expected from a preacher of the gospel. 

1. It addresses our present condition. In this “world of care,” we all have “seasons of distress and grief.”

2. It points to a remedy; a "SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER." 

3. And it assures us of our hope; we can “escape the tempter’s snare.”

William Walford experienced many trials and difficulties in his life and there are several references to those troubles in his hymn. 

But his remedy was always the same remedy available to all Christians. Whenever we are troubled, we can approach our God in prayer. He always has time to listen and He brings peace to our souls. 

In the fourth stanza (which is omitted from most hymnbooks) is a reference to a strange-sounding place; Mount Pisgah. It was from that mountain, that Moses was able to see the land of Israel before God took him to heaven. The imagery, there, is that one day, we will no longer need times of prayer because we will be in the very presence of our God.