Sweet Hour of Prayer

The story of this hymn

The words first appeared in 1845 in the New York Observer, credited to William Walford, a blind preacher in Coleshill, England, said to have composed them in his head and dictated them to a visiting minister. The authorship has never been fully settled, so hymnals simply print his name. William Bradbury's 1861 tune carried the hymn into gospel songbooks around the world, and its final verse — laying down 'this robe of flesh' and rising — is what brought a prayer-meeting hymn to funerals.

Where it sits in the service

A quieter hymn for the middle of the service, before or after the eulogy, and a favourite for a soloist while the family sits. In Methodist and gospel-rooted congregations it is often sung softly and unhurried. Print all three verses: the third, with its farewell and the soul taking flight, is the reason families choose this hymn, and should never be cut.

In the programme, list it in the order of service as “Hymn — Sweet Hour of Prayer” with the leader or choir named beside it.

How it is actually sung

A gentle hymn known best in older and more traditional congregations, and a good choice for someone whose faith was private and daily rather than public — families often recognise it as right without being able to say why. Three verses. It sits comfortably early in the order, before the readings, rather than at the committal, where something with more weight is wanted.

Printing the words

Public domain. Print all three verses; familiarity is uneven enough that the congregation will be reading rather than remembering.

This is practical guidance rather than legal advice. Reproduction rights vary by territory, by hymnal edition and by the licence your church holds — the church office is the right place to ask, and they answer this question often.