This devotional text on prayer is a composite hymn, or cento, that appeared as No. 243 in the third edition of the Hymns for the Chapel of Harrow School, published in 1866. Set in five stanzas of four lines each, the compilation was prepared specifically for the devotional use of the students in the school chapel.
The literary origins of the first five stanzas of the text could not be traced by contemporary hymnologists and remain of uncertain authorship. However, the closing sixth stanza was directly adapted from James Montgomery's highly popular and widely reprinted hymn on prayer, "Prayer is the soul's sincere desire." By appending Montgomery's famous stanza as a concluding doxology of praise and petition, the unknown editor created a cohesive liturgical unit that encouraged young scholars to approach God with confidence and reverence during daily chapel services.
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