A Message From Santiago "Jimmy" Mellado
Dear Prayer Partner,
Can I be honest with you? The words to the hymn, “Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior,” make me feel a little uncomfortable and vulnerable. We don’t want to admit that we sometimes feel like we need to ask Jesus not to pass us by. These words reveal our fear and our helplessness.
Yet there is beauty in vulnerability. And understanding the motives behind the song brings us to a beautiful place of reaching for Jesus — and him reaching out to us. Fanny J. Crosby, the author of this hymn, was blinded as an infant, which left her extremely vulnerable. She wrote this song after visiting a prison, where she heard one of the inmates cry out, “Good Lord, do not pass me by.”
A woman blinded for most of her life. A prisoner crying out for help. It’s hard to imagine two more vulnerable places. And maybe that’s why this hymn can make us uncomfortable. We don’t like feeling vulnerable, like we need others to help us. But of course, we do need help. We need our families, communities and most of all, our Lord, to help us as we walk through life.
This month, will you join us in praying for the vulnerable children and families highlighted in the prayer calendar? Each one represents someone reaching out to the Lord, asking him to not pass them by. Relying on his care, healing and love.
And will you pray from a place of your own vulnerability? Pray that God will enter those spaces where you feel alone and scared, and that he will bring you peace. And know, dear friend, he will never pass you by.
In Christ,
Santiago "Jimmy" Mellado
President and CEO
Compassion International