Artist: Elvis Presley Album: Elvis Gospel 1957-71-known On Title: Take My Hand, Precious Lord (Words & music by Thomas A. Dorsey) Precious Lord, take my hand Lead me on, let me stand I'm tired, I'm weak, I'm lone Through the storm, through the night Lead me on to the light Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home When my way grows drear precious Lord linger near When my light is almost gone Hear my cry, hear my call Hold my hand lest I fall Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home When the darkness appears and the night draws near And the day is past and gone At the river I stand Guide my feet, hold my hand Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home Precious Lord, take my hand Lead me on, let me stand I'm tired, I'm weak, I'm lone Through the storm, through the night Lead me on to the light Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home Precious Lord, take my hand. How often in your life have you just wanted someone to take your hand, walk with you, listen to your needs, your pains, your thoughts and help you through that moment? Tommy A Dorsey wrote this song after the loss of both his wife and son while he was away from home. (see below for how he describes those moments in his life when he needed a hand to hold). At this terrible moment in his life, in spite of all his friends and family, he needed a hand to help him up, to get going again, to not give up. The Lord, as He so often does, gave him these beautiful words and music. Before Mr. Dorsey ever wrote these words, we had God's promise to be there with us in our needs. There are many places in the Bible where God tells us about His holding our right hand, but one of the best is Isa 41:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee A lot of people think this song is just for when we get near the end of our days here, but while that certainly applies, it's not what the song is all about. Each day we go about the choices we make, face the things that life brings us and deal with the problems that come our way. When life does bring us troubled times, we so often think we need to go forward alone. We don't want to burden our loved ones, or friends. But we are wrong. We are never alone in our walk. Read the verse "For I the LORD the God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee". These are not my words, or those of a songwriter or a singer, but directly spoken by God. Take my hand I will help thee. In other places, He tells us He will take our hand and never let go. No matter what your facing in your life, God wants to be there with you and if you will let Him. What is in your life that you need a true friend for? Maybe you have been laid off, have financial problems or lost everything. Are you facing an addicition problem? Maybe you've just made some decisions that havn't worked out very well, or treated someone bad, or been treated bad yourself. You may be trying to make some very imporatant decisions No matter what is facing you right now, at this very moment, God will take your hand and lead you forward. No matter how tired you are, how weak, how alone He will hear you call. If you fall He will help you up. If you cry He will dry your tears and if you need someone just to love you and listen to you, He will hear every word and hold you in His arms to comfort you. Every day we journey through this life and, yes eventually to His light and home. And when you do get to that time in your life, you can look back and see Him holding your hand, walking through this life. Then as you look forward, you will know that when the time comes He will still have your hand to help you through and welcome you home. How wonderful is that? I can tell you that it has made a huge difference in my life. No matter what I have had to face, or how tough life has been at times, I have gone through it and come out on the other side with His hand in mine to guide, lead and protect me. As the saying goes, it doesn't get any better than that. I have faced death three times, and actually died twice. Whether I was laying in a parking lot trying to get help, in the emergency room with the paddles and all that went on there, or sitting in a car clutching my chest, I never had even one moment of fear as to what would come next if this was my time. If you found yourself in the same situation right now could you say the same thing? Think about it now while your are able to. Can you be absolutely sure of what the next step or place after death will be? If not, don't wait until your clutching your chest, gasping for air and just trying to keep living to find out you don't know. A lot of people don't get those moments to think about it when they die. If you don't have a one on one relationship with God, then I ask you to, no matter where you are, what your facing in life, your circumstances, to take this moment and come to God through Jesus Christ. Let Him come into your life and take your hand to go with you in all that is in your life. Don't wait my friend. God gives us the right to choose in what we do each day. Just as you have the right to choose Him or reject Him, you also have the choice of what you do each day. Don't trust that in the next moment someone won't make a decision that will put you at that river. If you don't have His hand by then, it will be to late. Reach out now. His hand is right there waiting for you to clasp it. No matter where you are in life, read the words of this beautiful song as you listen to Elvis singing it and reach out to the one that you know is there now and will be there for you for the rest of your life. For those of you that are reading this message, but have not found your personal relationship with God, you need to understand that it's not about me or any other person on earth except you. God loves you personally. He knows you, and understands that things have not always been the way they should in your life. He also knows that you don't have the ability or power to live the perfect life, and because He does love you, He sent Jesus Christ to live that perfect life, to teach and minister so that we could learn what God wants us to know, and then to die and be brought out of the grave to live again in Heaven. Your belief and faith in that right there is all that you need to have a wonderful relationship with God that will never end. He will take your hand and walk with you through thick and thin, guide you, love you and when that day comes welcome you home to be there with Him for eternity. God gives you the choice, but wants so much to be a part of your life from this point forward. You don't have to look but all around you to find proof of His existence. Take some time right now, open your Bible, and come to know the very best friend you could ever want. You probably have tried a lot of things in your life to get to this point, only to find out that no matter what you have, your still missing something. That something is the blessings that can only be found through a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I have never regretted a moment since accepting Jesus into my life and I assure you, neither will you. Go to the site below and this moment, right now come to God through Jesus Christ, and find all that you know is missing in your life. May God flood you with His guidance, His love and the joy of His presence. GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOU! Click HERE 4steps to know God! The following was provided by Ky_lady4 at Kentucky_Lady4 Take some time in your day to spend at her site. You'll be inspired and uplifted in so many ways. Tommy A Dorsey - Take My Hand Precious Lord As told by Mr. Dorsey: Back in 1932, I was 32 years old and a fairly new husband. My wife, Nettie and I were living in a little apartment on Chicago's Southside. One hot August afternoon I had to go to St. Louis, where I was to be the featured soloist at a large revival meeting. I didn't want to go. Nettie was in the last month of pregnancy with our first child. But a lot of people were expecting me in St. Louis. I kissed Nettie good-bye, Clattered downstairs to our Model A and, in a fresh Lake Michigan breeze, chugged out of Chicago on Route 66. However, outside the city, I discovered that in my anxiety at leaving, I had forgotten my music case. I wheeled around and headed back. I found Nettie sleeping peacefully. I hesitated by her bed; something was strongly telling me to stay. But eager to get on my way, and not wanting to disturb Nettie, I shrugged off the feeling and quietly slipped out of the room with my music. The next night, in the steaming St. Louis heat, the crowd called on me to sing again and again. When I finally sat down, a messenger boy ran up with a Western Union telegram. I ripped open the envelope. Pasted on the yellow sheet were the words: YOUR WIFE JUST DIED. People were happily singing and clapping around me, but I could hardly keep from crying out. I rushed to a phone and called home. All I could hear on the other end was "Nettie is dead. Nettie is dead." When I got back, I learned that Nettie had given birth to a boy. I swung between grief and joy. Yet that night, the baby died. I buried Nettie and our little boy together, in the same casket. Then I fell apart. For days I closeted myself. I felt that God had done me an injustice. I didn't want to serve Him any more or write gospel songs. I just wanted to go back to that jazz world I once knew so well. But then, as I hunched alone in that dark apartment those first sad days, I thought back to the afternoon I went to St. Louis. Something kept telling me to stay with Nettie. Was that something God? Oh, if I had paid more attention to Him that day, I would have stayed and been with Nettie when she died. From that moment on I vowed to listen more closely to Him. But still I was lost in grief. Everyone was kind to me, especially a friend, Professor Fry, who seemed to know what I needed. On the following Saturday evening he took me up to Malone's Poro College, a neighborhood music school. It was quiet; the late evening sun crept through the curtained windows. I sat down at the piano, and my hands began to browse over the keys. Something happened to me then. I felt at peace. I felt as though I could reach out and touch God. I found myself playing a melody, once into my head the melody just seemed to fall into place: Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand! I am tired, I am weak, I am worn, Through the storm, through the night lead me on to the light, Take my hand, precious Lord, Lead me home. The Lord gave me these words and melody, He also healed my spirit. I learned that when we are in our deepest grief, when we feel farthest from God, this is when He is closest, and when we are most open to His restoring power. And so I go on living for God willingly and joyfully, until that day comes when He will take me and gently lead me home. Written by Tommy A. Dorsey (1899-1993) He also composed: Peace In The Valley, The Old Ship of Zion, Walk All Over God's Heaven, On The Battlefield and Search Me Lord. The Lyrics for the song were found at the following site: Lyrics contained within lyrics.astraweb.com subject to US Copyright Laws and are the property of their respective authors & Elvis Presley, artists and labels. Commercial use prohibited. lyrics.astraweb.com is a not-for-profit resource. All advertising proceeds are used to maintain its servers. **Some of the music on this site is by original artists and is simply meant for entertainment and educational purposes only, without any commercial interest whatsoever or profit of any kind. Titles have copyright by their respective artists and record companies. Please support artists by purchasing their music from your local music stores.**
GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOU! Click HERE 4steps to know God!