Lyrics
What various hindrances we meet
In coming to the mercy seat!
Yet who that knows the worth of prayer
But wishes to be often there?
Prayer makes the darkened clouds withdraw;
Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw;
Gives exercise to faith and love;
Brings every blessing from above.
Restraining prayer, we cease to fight;
Prayer makes the Christian's armor bright;
And Satan trembles when he sees
The weakest saint upon his knees.
Have you no words? Ah, think again:
Words flow apace when you complain,
And fill a fellow-creature's ear
With the sad tale of all your care.
Were half the breath thus vainly spent
To heav'n in supplication sent,
Our cheerful song would oft'ner be,
'Hear what the Lord hath done for me!'
Public domain hymn text (1779). Words by William Cowper.
The Story Behind the Hymn
William Cowper contributed 'What Various Hindrances We Meet,' sometimes titled 'Exhortation to Prayer,' to the 1779 Olney Hymns, the collection he co-authored with John Newton.
The hymn opens by naming a genuinely difficult, common experience honestly, that real 'hindrances' consistently interfere with prayer, before arguing from prayer's proven worth rather than denying the difficulty.
Its middle verses warn specifically against neglecting prayer, noting that 'Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees,' and that abandoning prayer leaves the believer defenseless rather than merely inconvenienced.
Its fourth verse makes an especially sharp, practical observation: people rarely struggle for words when complaining to another person, yet claim to have 'no words' when it comes to prayer, exposing that the difficulty is rarely genuinely about vocabulary.
The hymn's closing verse suggests that much of the energy spent complaining to others might, redirected toward God in prayer, transform complaint into thanksgiving, 'hear what the Lord hath done for me.'
