Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Guest (Male): Welcome to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. I know you're going to recognize this beautiful old hymn. And if you do, sing along with Joni, won't you?

Joni Eareckson Tada: Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart. Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art. Thou my best thought, by day or by night. Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Don't you love that melody? It's so lilting, so Irish. And although I never knew her, my grandmother—her maiden name was Anna Verona Casey—my grandmother immigrated to the United States from Northern Ireland when she was a child. She was Scots-Irish, I am told. And Anna Verona married young and raised her four boys in the early 1900s.

They used to tell me that their mother was a woman of vision, a stout-hearted Christian, a real woman of prayer. I can imagine her back when my uncles and my daddy were young. Oh, what, say around 1912 or 1914? My father had me very late in life. I can just picture Anna Verona singing this hymn, "Be Thou My Vision."

And I can picture her praying, not only for my dad and his three brothers, but for all my Christian life. I've always felt that Grandmother Anna Verona must have been praying for me back then, way, way back then. I mean, somebody always has to pray for them to come to Christ, right? And I think she must have been praying for me and the grandchildren that she knew would be in the future.

Come to think of it, all my sisters are Christians, and I believe virtually all my cousins and second cousins are strong believers. And friend, you've got to know that that does not happen without someone praying big time, right? And all of my cousins are convinced that that someone was the matriarch of the Eareckson clan, Anna Verona.

Only a woman of vision would have enough—well, enough vision—to pray that large and that far distant into the future for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. And it's why I love to sing this hymn. It's a family hymn. I remember learning it as a little girl, and the tune appropriately is an Irish melody. And when I sing it, I sing it as a prayer.

For that matter, let me pray for you right now. Lord Jesus, fill the vision of my friend listening this minute. Be all that they see when they open their eyes in the morning. Let my friend be satisfied with your likeness. May you be the first thing in their sight. Give my listening friend 20/20 vision as it concerns the things in your word. Will you please keep them from anything that would blind them to your leading in their life? And I ask all this in your name, Jesus. Amen.

Guest (Male): And friends, speaking of vision and the things that we see and sometimes we're blind to, we'd very much like to hear your requests for prayer. If you're stumbling in your walk with Christ, let us pray for you. Share your personal prayer requests at joniradio.org because we so long to pray for you.

We do it every morning. Our staff prayer time starts every day at 8:00 a.m., and we pray for friends like you because we all need vision to see the greatness and the glory and the goodness in our Savior Jesus. Go to joniradio.org and let us know how we can pray. God bless you and thanks for singing along with Joni.

And friend, remember that you can hear this program again at joniradio.org. And while you're there, be sure to leave us your prayer requests.