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History of Hymns: "It Is Well with My Soul" "It Is Well with My Soul" Horatio G. Spafford The UM Hymnal, No. 377 When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. With this hymn comes one of the most heartrending stories in the annals of hymnody. The author, Horatio G. Spafford (1828-1888), was a Presbyterian layman from Chicago. He had established a very successful legal practice as a young businessman and was also a devout Christian. Among his close friends were several evangelists including the famous Dwight L. Moody, also from Chicago. Spafford’s fortune evaporated in the wake of the great Chicago Fire of 1871. Having invested heavily in real estate along Lake Michigan’s shoreline, he lost everything overnight. In a saga reminiscent of Job, his son died a short

  The Prayer of Release Brings Freedom from Blaming God by stormie omartian Prayer My husband and I have a friend who is gifted in many ways, but he has shut God out of his life, blaming Him for a car accident in which his sister was killed and he was injured severely enough to end his promising sports career. Years after that accident, he still bitterly questions why God didn’t keep it from happening. The truth is, the accident was never part of God’s plan. It was the devil who came to destroy because death is a part of his plan. Our friend is a good man, but he is agonizingly frustrated and unfulfilled because he has shut God off from working powerfully in his life. Blaming God is far more common than most of us care to admit, especially for those who have been abused, neglected, or deeply disappo