This is hymn 56 of the Open Heavens daily devotion written by Pastor E. A. Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).
HYMN 56: NEARER, MY GOD TO THEE
1. Nearer, My God, To Thee,
Nearer To Thee;
E’en Though It Be A Cross That Raiseth Me,
Still All My Song Shall Be,
Nearer, My God, To Thee,
Nearer, My God, To Thee,
Nearer To Thee!
2. Though Like The Wanderer,
The Sun Gone Down,
Darkness Be Over Me,
My Rest A Stone,
Yet In My Dreams I’d Be
Nearer, My God, To Thee,
Nearer, My God, To Thee,
Nearer To Thee!
3. There Let The Way Appear
Steps Unto Heaven;
All That Thou Send’st To Me
In Mercy Given;
Angels To Beckon Me
Nearer, My God, To Thee,
Nearer To Thee!
4. Then With My Waking Thoughts
Bright With Thy Praise,
Out Of My Stony Griefs
Bethel I’ll Raise;
So By My Woes To Be
Nearer, My God, To Thee,
Nearer To Thee!
5. Or If On Joyful Wing
Cleaving The Sky,
Sun, Moon, And Stars Forgot,
Upward I Fly,
Still All My Song Shall Be,
Nearer, My God, To Thee;
Nearer To Thee!
NEARER, MY GOD TO THEE HYMN COMMENTARY
Beloved in Christ, this profoundly moving hymn, “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” gives voice to the deepest, purest aspiration of the human heart reborn by grace. It is not a prayer for ease, wealth, or even understanding, but for one thing alone: nearness to God. Remarkably, it embraces every condition of life—suffering, darkness, grief, and even joyful ascent—as a potential means to draw closer to Him. It is the song of a pilgrim whose only compass points to the heart of the Father.
Why Sing This Hymn
We sing this hymn to fix our supreme desire on God Himself, to sanctify our sorrows by seeing them as tools in His hand for our spiritual intimacy, and to express a faith that seeks His presence above all other gifts. It is a hymn for the wounded, the weary, the seeking, and the soaring saint.
1. It is a Hymn of Crucified Ambition (Verse 1)
The opening line is the soul’s one request: “Nearer, my God, to Thee.” The radical nature of this prayer is immediately tested. The proposed pathway to nearness may be “a cross that raiseth me.”Here is the paradox of the Gospel: God often uses the very thing that humbles and pains us to spiritually elevate us and bring us closer to Him. The resolve is unwavering: regardless of the cost, “still all my song shall be” focused on this one goal. The Christian’s ambition is crucified—to be raised nearer to God.
2. It is a Hymn of Faith in the Dark Night (Verse 2)
The hymn validates the experience of spiritual desolation—feeling like a “wanderer” with the sun gone down, enveloped in darkness, with a stone for a rest. Even in this bleakness, the heart’s desire does not change. “Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer… to Thee.” When conscious faith is hard, the subconscious longing of a redeemed soul still strains toward God. This is the prayer of “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” set to melody.
3. It is a Hymn of Mercy in the Pathway (Verse 3)
From the darkness, a prayer for light emerges: “There let the way appear, Steps unto heaven.” The singer asks for God to reveal the next step, trusting that even the hardships (“all that Thou send’st to me”) are “in mercy given.” This reframes every circumstance as a potential divine appointment to draw us closer. The vision of “angels to beckon me” encourages us that the heavenly host is invested in our journey homeward.
4. It is a Hymn of Transformative Grief (Verse 4)
This verse contains a powerful alchemy of grace. From “stony griefs,” the faithful one resolves to raise a “Bethel”—a house of God, a place of encounter (Genesis 28:18-19). Our waking thoughts, filled with God’s praise, can transform the very material of our pain into a monument to His presence. Thus, the prayer is fulfilled: “So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee.” Our sorrows become the stones of a sanctuary where we meet Him.
5. It is a Hymn of Ultimate Ascent (Verse 5)
The hymn culminates in the final journey. Whether by death or the Lord’s return, pictured as flying on “joyful wing cleaving the sky,” leaving all creation behind, the song remains constant. In the ultimate transition, when sun, moon, and stars are forgotten, the soul’s anthem is unchanged: “Still all my song shall be, Nearer, my God, to Thee.” Our earthly longing finds its eternal fulfillment in unbroken, face-to-face nearness.
A Word for Your Spirit Today
What is raising you today? Is it a cross of disappointment, pain, or loss? Is it a season of darkness where God seems distant? Or is it a moment of joyful flight?
Whatever it is, let this hymn give you a sacred perspective. Let your one prayer be for nearness to Him. Ask Him to use your present circumstance—yes, even the hard one—as a divinely ordained step to draw you closer. Transform your stony grief into a Bethel of worship.
Make this your constant song, in the valley and on the mountaintop. For the soul that desires God above all else will find Him in all things, and will ultimately fly to Him, forever near.
Nearer, my God, to Thee.
In the name of Jesus, who draws us to the Father’s heart, Amen.
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