伊丽莎白·普伦蒂斯（Elizabeth P. Prentiss）. Explore “More Love to Thee, O Christ”: song information and official sources.
Confession and repentance · Renewal and sanctification
In 1852, Prentiss lost two children within months. She wrote this poem about four years later, during another period of deep physical and spiritual distress. She showed it to no one for years, and it was not published until 1869. That background helps us read the second stanza: once she sought comfort and peace; now her one request is to love Christ more. Suffering is not presented as good. Rather, someone deeply wounded discovers that what she most desires has changed. The poem contains neither complaint nor cheap comfort. Use it cautiously at memorial services: it suits someone who has already travelled some distance through grief, and may be too early for a recent loss. Spiritual renewal and year-end reflection are better settings.
Spiritual renewal, year-end self-examination and retreats; teaching on loving the Lord and letting go.