In this devotional presentation, Rick Lee James and a co‑speaker recount the life of Saint Patrick, emphasizing his early enslavement in Ireland, his conversion after a period of prayer, and his later missionary work that led to the Christianization of Ireland. The speaker recites the full text of St. Patrick’s Breastplate prayer, explaining its protective themes and how it inspired James’s song “Christ is Lord, Christ Before Me,” the opening track on James’s album Hymns, Prayers and Invitations. The narrative also notes Patrick’s use of the three‑leaf clover to teach the Trinity, his numerous attempts on his life, and his legacy of baptizing over 120,000 people and founding more than 300 churches. James references his book Out of the Depths: A Songwriter’s Journey Through the Psalms and mentions that Lifeway Worship has made the album’s music available for church use, encouraging listeners to incorporate the song into St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, or any worship setting.
Christ before me, Christ behind, Christ to guide me, Christ beside, Christ to comfort, Christ restore. Hallelujah! Christ is Lord!
Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me. These are the words from St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer. These are also the words that inspired my new song on my on my album Hymns, Prayers and Invitations. The song is called Christ is Lord, Christ Before Me. I quickly want to share Patrick's story with you so that you can have a little bit more understanding behind the song. Around 390 AD, Saint Patrick was born. Around the age of 16, the Roman legions who guarded his community in Britain had to be withdrawn from that area to go back to Rome to protect Rome itself from heathen invaders. Left unprotected, Britain was invaded and raiders carried away tens of thousands of innocent people, killing them, enslaving them, or even worse. At age 16, St. Patrick was one of these innocents who was carried away and forced into slavery in Ireland until he escaped finally at age 21. Now, Patrick had two devoted Christian parents who were killed during the invasion, but he himself was not a believer at a young age. Ireland at that time, where Patrick was taken off to, it was in terrible darkness. There was superstition. It was controlled by witches. By the Pictish warlords. And growing up in Britain, Patrick wanted nothing to do with the faith of his parents, but now, orphaned and enslaved in Ireland, in the despair of captivity, he began to see things differently. Patrick found himself freezing to death in Northern Ireland, forced to shepherd his captor's sheep, crying out to God up to 100 times a night, "God, save me! God, save me! God, save me!" Well, God heard his prayer. He listened to God in the fields at night as he was in captivity, and after 6 years growing deeper in his relationship with Christ, he sensed the Lord speak to him with these words: "Your ship is ready." Patrick stood up that night, walked nearly 200 miles from Northern Ireland to the East Coast where he found a ship, but the captain of the ship would not let him on, so Patrick walked away discouraged thinking, "Why won't they let me on? God, you told me that this is what I was supposed to do." was supposed to do, and in fact, he turned around because he was so sure that God had told him to do this. He went back and convinced the captain to let him on the ship, and he completed his escape going back to Britain. Patrick said, "There the Lord opened the sense of my unbelief that I might at last remember my sins and be converted with all my heart to the Lord God, who comforted me as would a father his son." Back in Britain, he felt a call to enter the clergy, and so he studied and he entered the priesthood. At 40 years old, he had a dream where an angel brought him a letter from the people of Ireland crying out for him to return. When he woke from the dream, he said that their cry pierced his heart. Believing that he had a call of God on his life to return to Ireland, he went back to this land that had once enslaved him as a missionary. But Patrick didn't return with weapons. He went back and he confronted the Druids and he converted the chieftains and being armed only with the love of God, he confronted these scary barbarians with with battle axes. Christianity did not exist in Ireland at that time, so Patrick used 3-leaf clovers to teach the Trinity, the triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And the Druids weren't happy about this. They tried to kill him nearly a dozen times. Patrick said, "Daily I expect murder, fraud, or captivity, but I fear none of these things because of the promises of heaven." Patrick, in his time as a missionary in Ireland, baptized over 120,000 people. He founded over 300 churches, and by the time Patrick died, Ireland was essentially a Christian nation. The prayer of St. Patrick in the breastplate goes like this: I bind into myself today the strong name of the Trinity. I summon today all these powers between me and those evils. Against every cruel and merciless power that may oppose my body and my soul, against incantations of false prophets, against black laws of heathenry, against false laws of heretics, against the craft of idolatry, against spells of witches and smiths and wizards, against every knowledge that endangers man's body and soul. Christ, to protect me today against poison, against burning, against drowning, against wounding, so that there may come an abundance of reward. Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, and the prayer goes on and on, that Christ would be in all and through all. It's a wonderful prayer. If you haven't read it, you should read it. I wrote about Patrick in my book, Out of the Depths: A Songwriter's Journey Through the Psalms. You might want to pick that up and check it out sometime, but also my new album My new album, Hymns, Prayers and Invitations, features the song Christ is Lord, Christ Before Me, which is a song taken from that breastplate prayer of St. Patrick. It's the first song on my new album. I hope it blesses you and points you not to me but to Christ. And my dear friends at Lifeway Worship are making the music for this song and all songs from my new album available to you to sing in your churches. I hope it adds to your St. Patrick's Day celebration your Easter celebrations, and any time that you gather together to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Maybe you can use these words from my song: Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ to guide me, Christ beside, Christ to comfort, Christ restore. Hallelujah! Christ is Lord!
Christ to guide me, Christ beside, Christ to comfort, Christ restore. Hallelujah! Christ is Lord! Christ, you conquered! Christ, restored! Hallelujah! Christ is Lord! Hallelujah! Christ is Lord!
