July 2, 2020 (Thursday)
“God Is Calling the Prodigal” may be an unfamiliar hymn to you, but it is in all the older hymnals, and I pastored at least one church, maybe more, where we sang this hymn quite often. It is easy to sing and has a great message, based on Jesus’ account of the prodigal son, so familiar to us all. The singer pleads with the prodigal son in verses like this: “Hear, O hear Him calling, calling now for thee; Tho’ you’ve wandered so far from His presence, come today..”
Everywhere we go these days, we find people who are wandering away from God, like the prodigal, and they need to find their way back home to their Heavenly Father, who loves them just as they are and would welcome them gladly if they would but come. Perhaps we could be the ones to remind them that God loves them and wants them back home with Him.
God Is Calling the Prodigal
Author, Charles Gabriel,
1889
(Luke 15:11-32)
1 God is calling the prodigal, come without delay,
Hear, O hear Him calling, calling now for thee;
Tho’ you’ve wandered so far from His presence, come today,
Hear His loving voice calling still.
Chorus:
Calling now for thee,
O weary prodigal come;
Calling now for thee,
O weary prodigal come.
2 Patient, loving, and tenderly still the Father pleads,
Hear, O hear Him calling, calling now for thee;
Oh! return while the Spirit in mercy intercedes,
Hear His loving voice calling still. [Chorus]
3 Come, there’s bread in the house of thy Father, and to spare,
Hear, O hear Him calling, calling now for thee;
Lo! the table is spread and the feast is waiting there,
Hear His loving voice calling still. [Chorus]