A story of the hymn, “There Shall Be Showers of Blessing” by William Petersen

As a teenager, Daniel Whittle was a cashier at the Wells Fargo Bank in Chicago, but when the Civil War erupted, he enlisted and soon became a soldier in General Grant’s Union Army. Just before he left, his mother put a New Testament in his kit, where it stayed unread. In 1863 during the siege of Vicksburg, in which nearly twenty thousand soldiers lost their lives, young Whittle was wounded and taken prisoner by Confederate troops. His right arm had to be amputated. In the hospital he finally discovered the New Testament in his kit and began to read it. 

One day an orderly came and told Whittle that a man was dying in the next room and needed someone to pray with him. Whittle protested. Just because he was reading his Bible didn’t mean he was a Christian, and he didn’t know how to pray. But because of the urgency of the situation, Whittle went to talk with him. When the man said, “Pray for me, and ask God to forgive me,” Whittle asked God to forgive his fellow soldier and then prayed for forgiveness for himself as well. Whittle got up from his knees and discovered that the soldier had died while he was praying. As for himself, Whittle had entered into new life; he had become a new creation. His mother’s prayers had been answered. 

Whittle wrote many popular gospel songs later in his life, including “There Shall Be Showers of Blessing.” This gospel song is derived from Ezekiel 34:26 in which God promises showers of blessing upon the land.

Scriptures: Psalm 72:6; Ezekiel 34:11-26; Zechariah 8:13 

Themes: Blessing, Revival, Prayer 

Lyrics of the Hymn:

“There shall be showers of blessing”:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing, 
Sent from the Savior above.

Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need:
Mercy-drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.

“There shall be showers of blessing”
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.

“There shall be showers of blessing”:
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come, and now honor Thy Word.

“There shall be showers of blessing”:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!
By DANIEL WEBSTER WHITTLE (1840–1901)

Reference for the Hymn:
Petersen, William. The Complete Book of Hymns (pp. 319-320). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.