Do you ever doubt your faith? The hymn, “Just as I Am” was written by Charlotte Elliott after a night of spiritual struggle. I’ve been here several times in my Christian walk, but never thought to do what Charlotte did. In the morning after her tumultuous night, she sat down to write all the things she was absolutely certain of in her faith. She made a list of sorts of all she knew about her own salvation. The poem, “Just as I Am” was the result.
“Hymns for Him” is a series of prayers for the newlywed bride to pray for her husband. See other prayers like, How Great Thou Art, The Lord’s Prayer, and Be Thou My Vision.
Just as I Am
Just as I am—without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee—
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am—and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot—
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am—though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without—
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am—poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
Yea, all I need in Thee to find—
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am—Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe—
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am—Thy love unknown
Hath broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone—
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am—of that free love
The breadth, length, depth, and height to prove,
Here for a season, then above—
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
The Lord God is Indeed God
I’m reminded of the verse Deuteronomy 7:9:
Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps His covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes His unfailing love on those who love Him and obey His commands.
Amazingly, He does this for each of us, just as we are, if we believe and call out to Him. Billy Graham knew this. This song became the signature hymn at the close of his crusades. Many people have been moved to repentance through the words of this song. So how does this song relate to a newly wed bride as she prays for her husband? I can suggest this:
Prayer for Newlywed Husband
O Lord, my God, just as I am, I come to You. I thank you for the blood you shed for both me and {insert your husband’s name}. Thank you for calling us into Your kingdom. You are the Lamb of God! We come to You.
Lord, we will not wait to rid our soul of even one dark blot. Your blood is powerful, O Lamb of God. Cleanse us both of any spot that separates us from Your goodness.
Struggles Come and Go
You know the struggles we have, Lord. There are fears in our soul and fears in our world. There are conflicts every day. We come to You, for we know that Your burden is light. Thank you for sharing the load. Thank You for blessing our marriage. Keep us safe. Give us strength for temptation and enough love for You to choose righteousness. You became our lamb of sacrifice. We come to you with any doubt and trust in You to see us through.
Just as we are, Lord. We bring You the blindness and weakness of our faith. Show us the way to spiritual sight. Heal our mind. Help us not to entertain thoughts that pull us away, but to always come to You.
You Keep Your Promises
You are faithful, O Lamb of God! I believe in Your promises to receive, welcome, pardon, cleanse and relieve. All the worry. All the angst. Are we good enough? Have we confessed it all? Is this sin to much to forgive? You receive us into Your arms. We are welcome to empty our weary souls into Your hands. You pardon our offenses. And oh, Lord, the relief we feel when it’s all at Your feet. You handle it all in Your time, in Your will and in Your way.
It is Your Love, O Lord, that breaks every barrier between us. Your love brings us into Your perfect peace. It is Your love, that makes us Yours. We can do nothing to earn Your Love. He has done all the work. Paid the price. O Lamb, we worship You.
Father, we have a breath of life here on earth. Let us come to You to experience the breadth, heighth, width and depth of Your love. We know that there is so much more to learn of You. Lord, we come. We come.
Be assured dear bride, that He hears and receives every sigh, every yearning. Go to Him.