The hymn below is so applicable today that it's hard to believe it was written over 130 years ago, in 1870 by John Ellerton.  It was first published in Church Hymns in 1871, but if it weren't for the language, it could have been a prayer from today!  Enjoy it, and make it your own.

Behold us, Lord, a little space
From daily tasks set free,
And met within thy holy place
To rest awhile with thee.

Around us rolls the ceaseless tide
Of business, toil, and care;
And scarcely can we turn aside
For one brief hour of prayer.

Yet these are not the only walls
Wherein thou mayst be sought;
On homeliest work thy blessing falls,
In truth and patience wrought.

Thine is the loom, the forge, the mart,
The wealth of land and sea,
The worlds of science and of art,
Revealed and ruled by thee.

Then let us prove our heavenly birth,
In all we do and know;
And claim the kingdom of the earth
For thee and not thy foe.

Work shall be prayer, if all be wrought
As thou wouldst have it done,
And prayer, by thee inspired and taught,
Itself with work be one.

Amen.


According to cyberhymnal, "Ellerton grad­u­at­ed from Trin­i­ty Coll­ege and en­tered the min­is­try in 1850. He served as Vi­car at St. Ni­cho­las’, Bright­on, and Crewe Green, Che­shire. He was a rec­og­nized au­thor­i­ty on hymns, and con­trib­ut­ed to Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern. He wrote or trans­lat­ed over 80 hymns. His works in­clude: