Product Description
I wrote this contemporary hymn as a musical prayer response to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In liturgical churches, it functions beautifully as a congregational sung response following the Prayers of the People (or even replacing the Prayers of the People). In evangelical settings, it can be sung as a stand-alone worship hymn right after the sermon, or as part of a set of worship songs at the beginning or conclusion of the service.
I am a prolific songwriter, and I've been writing music for 35+ years now. Through all of those years, there have only been a handful of occasions where I have felt more like a conduit of the Holy Spirit than the composer of the hymn; this was definitely one of those times.
"This is Our Prayer" is written in the key of F Major, making it highly accessible for beginning church accompanists. It has a moderate tempo, set in a 3/4 time signature with a lilting rhythm. The vocal range is designed for robust congregational singing. The melody line is just one octave, ranging from Middle C to the C above it; the Alto line is just a six note range, from Middle C to the A above. This score includes the piano accompaniment in a strophic, hymn style format, two-part vocal harmony, and guitar chords (which can also assist pianists who play by chord + melody line, instead of by reading the score). The simplicity of this hymn does not detract from its' beauty, however. This is a highly singable, memorable tune with some interesting rhythmic patterns.
The lyrics of this hymn are loosely based on Romans 12:12-21 ("As far as it depends upon you, live at peace with all people"). The words of the hymn are truly a prayer, asking God for peace, but they also remind us that as people of faith, we are invited to participate WITH God in the process of making peace on earth, by how we pray, live, give, and place our trust in God. One lyric reads that we "dare" to pray for peace; this is an intentional choice on my part, flagging the potential costliness of becoming people who prioritize peace.
The week this hymn was released to Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music Unlimited, Reverbnation, and Deezer, it debuted at #30 on the Top 100 Contemporary Christian Music Charts on Spotify. The YouTube video version of the hymn (link attached below) was viewed over 7,000 times in the first ten days, by people in over 40 countries. You are welcome to stream it for worship services, on church websites, and on social media. The more people view it, the more ad revenue it will generate, and all profits from the sale of this hymn in any form (video ad revenue, digital MP3 sales on the sites listed above, and the sale of this musical score) will be donated to the Red Cross and the United Church of Canada's Mission & Service Fund; both of these registered charities have targeted programs running to assist Ukrainians who've been displaced by the war. Once the Ukrainian war ends, I will continue to send all profits from the hymn to those same charities to help refugees in other conflict zones.
May this hymn comfort and discomfort you. My prayer is that it will prompt all of us to live more faithfully as people of peace - in our individual lives, but also in our families, in our communities, our nations, and our world. To God be the glory!
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.