Each time I listen to these songs, I feel as though I am privy to an artist's workshop exercise where they are presented with a text or a prayer and given artistic liberty to create music that represents the heart of the selection.
When I first listened to Matt Maher's, Every Little Prison (Deliver Me), I was moved by the sentiment of the song, but didn't know immediately that it was, in fact, the litany of humility set to music via his own artistic interpretation. Here is the prayer in its entirety:
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…
After being introduced to this prayer through Maher's album, when I first listened to Audrey Assad's, I Shall Not Want, the correlation immediately grabbed me. Knowing the two of them have worked together, I imagine a scene where they are challenging each other to a writing duel. "Here's the prayer...now GO!" hovered over their pianos and writing tables, dim room with a single bright light, guitar on lap, sharp pencils at the ready. Probably not at all how that went down.
Here are the two songs as we dive into Lent, a time to humble ourselves and draw closer to Jesus, a time to clear out our own mess and make more room for God in our hearts and lives.
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