Lyrics
Lord, speak to me, that I may speak
In living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou hast sought, so let me seek
Thy erring children lost and lone.
O lead me, Lord, that I may lead
The wandering and the wavering feet;
O feed me, Lord, that I may feed
Thy hungering ones with manna sweet.
O strengthen me, that while I stand
Firm on the rock, and strong in Thee,
I may stretch out a loving hand
To wrestlers with the troubled sea.
O teach me, Lord, that I may teach
The precious things Thou dost impart;
And wing my words, that they may reach
The hidden depths of many a heart.
O give Thine own sweet rest to me,
That I may speak with soothing pow'r
A word in season, as from Thee,
To weary ones in needful hour.
O fill me with Thy fullness, Lord,
Until my very heart o'erflow
In kindling thought and glowing word,
Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.
O use me, Lord, use even me,
Just as Thou wilt, and when, and where,
Until Thy blessed face I see,
Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.
Public domain hymn text (1872). Words by Frances Ridley Havergal.
The Story Behind the Hymn
Frances Ridley Havergal wrote 'Lord, Speak to Me' in 1872, structuring the entire hymn around a distinctive grammatical pattern, every request for something from God is immediately paired with a request to pass that same gift along to someone else.
That structure, 'speak to me, that I may speak,' 'lead me… that I may lead,' 'feed me… that I may feed,' makes clear from the outset that the hymn treats every personal blessing as provisional, intended for onward transmission rather than private retention.
Havergal, who was fluent in several languages and had studied extensively in both England and Germany, brought a careful, almost architectural precision to her verse, and this hymn's repeated grammatical parallel is a clear example of that deliberate, structural craftsmanship.
Its imagery of feeding others with 'manna sweet' draws on the Israelites' wilderness provision in Exodus 16, extending that image of miraculous, daily sustenance into an image of the believer becoming a channel for that same provision to reach others.
Havergal was known for combining her hymn writing with active, hands-on Christian service and correspondence throughout her short life, and this hymn's insistence that every gift received exists specifically to be given away again reflects that same lived priority.
The hymn became a favorite of Christian workers, missionaries, and those in pastoral ministry specifically, valued for naming directly the risk such service always carries, of receiving nothing for oneself except in the very act of giving it away to others.
It remained a widely used hymn for ordination services and commissioning of Christian workers throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, its repeated structure giving those entering active service clear, memorable language for the outward-facing nature of the calling they were accepting.
