Analysis of Lord, Teach Us How to Pray Aright

James Montgomery 1771 (Irvine) – 1854



Lord, teach us how to pray aright,
With reverence and with fear;
Though dust and ashes in Thy sight,
We may, we must draw near.

We perish if we cease from prayer;
O grant us power to pray;
And when to meet Thee we prepare,
Lord, meet us by the way.

God of all grace, we come to Thee
With broken, contrite hearts;
Give what Thine eye delights to see,
Truth in the inward parts.

Faith is the only sacrifice
That can for sin atone;
To cast our hopes, to fix our eyes,
On Christ, on Christ alone.

Patience to watch, and wait, and weep,
Though mercy long delay;
Courage our fainting souls to keep,
And trust Thee though Thou slay.

Give these, and then Thy will be done,
Thus, strengthened with all might,
We, through Thy Spirit and Thy Son,
Shall pray, and pray aright.


Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF XGXG HDHD IAIA
Poetic Form Pantoum 
Quatrain 
Metre 1111111 1100011 11010011 111111 11011111 1111011 01111101 111101 11111111 110011 11110111 100101 1101010 111101 1110111101 111101 10110101 110101 101010111 011111 11011111 110111 11110011 11011
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 749
Words 148
Sentences 7
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 97
Words per stanza (avg) 24
Font size:
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 31, 2023

44 sec read
107

James Montgomery

The Very Reverend James Francis Montgomery was an Anglican priest in the second half of the 19th century He studied for the bar before being ordained after a period of study at Durham University, and was a Curate at Puddletown before Edinburgh incumbencies. more…

All James Montgomery poems | James Montgomery Books

1 fan

Discuss this James Montgomery poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Lord, Teach Us How to Pray Aright" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20454/lord%2C-teach-us-how-to-pray-aright>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    12
    hours
    32
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    The repetition of vowel sounds is an example of _______.
    A assonance
    B rhyme
    C repetition
    D rhythm