Scripture References:
st. = John 12:28; 17:1-5, Ps. 108:5, Isa. 6:3

Donna Adkins composed this fine song in 1976 and entitled it "Glorify Thy Name." The hymn was first published in a small booklet used at a pastor's conference and was later published by Maranatha! Music in 1981 in the collection Praise 5. It also appeared on the corresponding recording of the same name. Adkins writes the following about her composition of this hymn:

One morning while reading the seventeenth chapter of John, I began to meditate on the prayer of Jesus. I saw in a new way that Jesus was not only praying for His disciples, but for all who would follow Him in years to come. He was actually praying for me! I was impressed that Jesus was placing great emphasis on the unity in the Godhead. I also saw that it was very important to Jesus that the Father's name be glorified, and that there seemed to be a correlation between glorifying the Father's name and achieving unity. In that same moment I was inspired to sit at the piano and write "Glorify Thy Name."

With a Trinitarian structure in its three stanzas, this popular hymn is one of the finest praise choruses as well as prayer hymns from the mid-1970s. "Father, We Love You" first expresses our humble love and devotion to God and then offers Jesus' own prayer, "glorify your name" (see John 12:28; 17:1-5). God's name is glorified in the completion of Christ's ministry on earth, in the faithful testimony of God's family, the church, and in the praises of angels and saints in heaven. As we sing, we also pray for God's glory to arise from "all the earth" (see Ps. 108:5 and Isa. 6:3). Thus the text has a biblically cosmic ring: "all the earth" refers to our whole lives, all the nations, and, in fact, the entire creation!

Donna Whobrey Adkins (b. Louisville, KY, 1940) began singing in public at the age of two and by the age of twelve was playing piano for the family quartet. Her parents were church musicians and traveling gospel singers. Educated at Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, and the University of Louisville, Kentucky, she has served on the music staff of several churches and currently serves as the secretary to the senior pastor of the Covenant Church of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Liturgical Use:
As a fitting choral invocation at the beginning of worship and a beautiful prayer following sermons that set forth the glory of God; a doxology for many occasions of worship.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

GLORIFY YOUR NAME is best sung in harmony, possibly without instrumental accompaniment, although instruments could be helpful in negotiating the longer cadences in lines 2 and 4. The hymn is really a glorious unaccompanied chorus! Try beginning the stanzas rather quietly and humbly and then increase the volume with each new repetition of the words "glorify your name." Sing prayerfully with an inner intensity that gives the hymn fervor and energy. Keep a majestic tempo and do not rush. Encourage your congregation to sing this song from memory.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook