Standin’ in the Need of Prayer

Some people tell me they never pray for themselves but only for others. When Jesus taught his disciples, “Ask and it will be given to you,” he never qualified the asking. The pronoun “you” incorporates everyone. “Standing in the Need of Prayer” belongs to a genre of American folk music that used to be called “Negro Spirituals.” For obvious reasons, I’m sticking with the designation “Spirituals.” The Spirituals sing of hope—hope of earthly freedom and hope of eternal life. They display a resolute trust in God, who will right all wrongs, hopefully in this life but most assuredly in the next. How could enslaved people living in such horrific conditions write such beautiful music? One critical aspect of Spirituals is that it endowed slaves with a sense of dignity. The music held tenaciously to the Biblical conviction that all people, slaves included, are created in the image of God. They are not mere slaves; they are God’s children. Spirituals provoke powerful emotions. They speak “from the heart to the heart.” The genius of Spirituals is that they are easily memorable and eminently singable. No one knows who wrote “Standin’ in the Need of Prayer.” It was first published in a collection of plantation songs in 1918. Most Spirituals do not identify with any one person. They emerge in the community and are shaped by the community. The text for “Standin’ in the Need of Prayer” has numerous variations and musical arrangements, so the one that follows here may differ from how you learned it. We stand in need of prayer. It’s not only other people who need prayer. We need it also: