“Let Jesus Come Into Your Heart” - Leila Naylor Morris

1862–1929

Leila Morris told an interesting, but not unusual, story of her conversion: “When I was ten years old I was led to give my heart to God. . . . I knew then that I needed a Saviour. Three different years I went forward to the altar and prayed and prayed, until a man came and laid his hand on my head and said, ‘Why, little girl, God is here and ready to forgive your sins.’”

Her life was a challenge even then. Her father had died, and her mother struggled to bring up five kids on her own. Leila helped out by knitting and sewing things they could sell in the family millinery shop. She also took piano lessons at the home of a neighbor who had a piano. These skills she learned in childhood proved valuable throughout her life. Leila kept sewing for a number of years, and she played piano and organ for the churches she attended.

She also wrote songs. “Nearer, Still Nearer,” “Sweeter as the Years Go By,” and “Let Jesus Come into Your Heart” all came from her pen. She didn’t start songwriting until she was about thirty, but over the last thirty-seven years of her life, she churned out about 1,500 hymns—even though she was blind for the last fifteen years. (When her eyesight began to fail, her son built a twenty-eight-foot blackboard with large musical staff lines. Later she composed hymns in her head and sang them to her daughter, who transcribed them.)

You won’t find deep theology in Leila’s songs, just an honest expression of an authentic relationship with Jesus. In a way, she takes us back to that childhood altar—and the lesson she learned there. Human beings strive to attain God in various ways, but the gospel of grace invites us to stop striving. At ages eight and nine, little Leila tried to pray hard enough to please God. The message broke through the next year: God was already eager to welcome her.

That’s the most powerful theological statement we can make. “Let Jesus Come into Your Heart.” He’s there, knocking. We just need to open up.

Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

Revelation 3:20