Father, I stretch my hands to Thee

“Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee” is one of Charles Wesley’s most personal and heartfelt hymns, expressing the soul’s deep dependence on God for mercy, strength, and salvation. Written in 1741, it belongs to the early period of the Methodist revival, when Charles Wesley was pouring out hymns that gave voice to every dimension of Christian experience—from conviction of sin to the assurance of grace.

The hymn opens with an intimate cry of faith, “Father, I stretch my hands to Thee, no other help I know.” These lines echo both the psalmist’s dependence on divine help and the sinner’s desperate plea for forgiveness. It is a prayer of surrender, recognizing that apart from God’s mercy, there is no hope. The tone is humble and penitential, yet filled with trust in the goodness of a loving Father who hears and saves.

Each stanza unfolds the believer’s struggle and faith. Wesley captures the tension between human weakness and divine sufficiency, between guilt and grace. The hymn does not hide the soul’s trembling before God, but transforms it into confidence through faith in Christ’s atoning love. It teaches that salvation is entirely the work of God, received through childlike trust in His promise.

Musically, the hymn has been sung in many styles—solemnly in traditional worship and fervently in African American spiritual traditions, where it became a cornerstone of gospel faith. In those settings, it often takes on a deeper emotional power, serving as both a confession of dependence and a proclamation of deliverance.

“Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee” continues to be a prayer-song for generations of believers who have found themselves at the end of their strength but in the beginning of God’s mercy. Its enduring appeal lies in its simplicity and sincerity: a soul reaching upward to its Creator, trusting fully in His grace. It remains one of Wesley’s most moving contributions to Christian hymnody, teaching that true faith begins with total surrender to the Father who never fails.