(Give Me Oil For My Lamp)
For such a playful song, it certainly seems to ask for a lot — “Give me” – 12 times. “Keep me” – 8 times. “Make me” – 3. What does God think of all that asking? Please join in the fun by giving this song a sing-along listen, then come back and we’ll check into what the Lord says about making requests.
Thou shall not covet, right?
You’ll recall the tenth commandment, “Thou shall not covet”. Then Corinthians says, “covet earnestly the best gifts.” Is this a Bible contradiction? Nope. No problem.
To “covet” is to earnestly desire. Some things should NOT be objects of our desire and other things SHOULD be. The “Cowboy’s 10 Commandments” puts it simply: “10. Don’t be hankerin’ for your pardner’s stuff.” This commandment is about earnestly desiring things outside the Lord’s will.
Notice the commandment does not guarantee that coveting could never lead to our actually ending up with our “pardner’s stuff”. It says don’t covet it. Coveting is a bad place to be in our minds, and – what’s worse — just might result in us getting what we are coveting – which is likely to bring disastrous results — results the Lord could see ahead of time, but we could not.
Corinthians says we SHOULD covet — that we should earnestly desire – NOT our “pardner’s stuff” but rather desire God’s BEST for us. Simple. Powerful.
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.
(1 John 5:14,15 BSB)
John spells out how we can ask the Lord and be confident of receiving, which is to “ask anything according to His will.” It’s beautiful to earnestly desire what the Lord wants for us.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:6,7 BSB)
I used to think this verse in Philippians was mainly about sending up requests to the Lord and receiving what we asked back from Him. Isn’t it interesting this verse does not promise we’ll get what we ask for. It does promise we can replace anxiety with peace. That is a powerful promise.
Do ask the Lord, with thanksgiving, according to His will. Have confidence He hears. Let His peace guard your heart and mind.
Better than coveting
But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way. (1 Corinthians 12:31 BSB)
Read the verses leading up to this one and see that it is talking about what your life in Christ and your ministry need to thrive. Earnestly desire THOSE things. What comes AFTER this verse is amazing.
Do you want to thrive? The more excellent way is spelled out in the next chapter, 1 Corinthians 13 — the “LOVE” chapter. Read it! Search for the lessons in it. The love of God — in our thoughts and actions — is described and defined in this chapter.
Love is patient, kind, doesn’t envy or boast, isn’t proud or self-seeking, not easily angered, keeps NO RECORD OF WRONGS, rejoices in the truth …. and so much more.
Love lights up our lives and ministries.The love of God manifested in our lives is the better way for our needs and the needs of the ministry to be met. Lots to chew on here!
Sometimes the BEST thing to ask for is to be able to love bigger.
Give me oil for my lamp
This song — sometimes titled “Give Me Oil For My Lamp” — is fun and bright, and serves even better when, as we sing it, we think about the Lord’s delight to receive our requests wrapped in thanksgiving and to send us His peace to guard our hearts and minds. We might start out by asking that He give us oil for our lamps and quickly find ourselves confident, filled, peaceful, blessed — and just wanting to sing hosanna.
God bless you lots!
–Dale R.
LYRICS — Sing Hosanna!
Give me oil for my lamp Keep me burning, burning, burning;
Give me oil for my lamp I pray …. YEE HAH!!
Give me oil for my lamp Keep me burning, burning, burning;
Keep me burning ’til the break of day.
Chorus:
Sing hosanna! Sing hosanna!
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings! (HEY!)
Sing hosanna! Sing hosanna!
Sing hosanna to the King of Kings!
Give me gas for my Ford keep me trucking for the Lord
Give me gas for my Ford I pray …. YEE HAH!!
Give me gas for my Ford keep me trucking for the Lord
Or I might buy a Chevrolet
Give me wax for my board, keep me surfing for the Lord,
Give me wax for my board I pray …. YEE HAH!!
Give me wax for my board, keep me surfing for the Lord,
Keep me surfing ’til the break of day
Give me umption for my gumption,
Make me function, function, function;
Give me umption for my gumption I pray ..YEE HAH!!
Give me umption for my gumption,
Make me function, function, function;
Make me function ’til the break of day!
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First posted July 25, 2019. New song video and article posted June 29, 2024.
Love playing and singing this song! It always gets folks involved. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Ivan, I agree — this one is always fun — as I’m sure you know (but maybe some others might not…) so much better when there’s a group that can split, one side singing “SING….” and the other “Hosanna”, then both sing “HEY”. Thanks much for your note! God bless you lots — Dale R.
What a blessing!
Thank you Dale!
My daughter Christin and her daughters are driving to YES! in a few weeks!
I’ll forward this to her for one of their car driving songs from Texas to Ohio!
God Bless you and your family!
Hi Alicia, What a delight that Christin and kids are making that drive! Should be memorable, maybe even epic!Thanks for your note and for sharing the fun. God bless you lots — Dale R.
Aaahhhhh well done singing all the parts in one breath! I was humming along right there with you. Loving the connections you made with this one, and the many ways to say it…the Cowboy 10 Commandments are fun! I Corinthians 13 gets better and better all the time. What a gift to know what love actually is, and to be able to filter our own feelings and behaviors through that standard. Great stuff!!!
Mr Dale……”AWESOME ” u asked, how has “THE LOVE OF OUR FATHER, Helped my life “? mr dale,…….MY FATHER JESUS IS MY LIFE……….MY FATHER JESUS DIED SO THAT I MAY LIVE IN HIM, So IF I Am l living in HIM, That make me , “HIS” , Remember, HE DIED SO THAT I May live, NOW THAT’S SOME AMAZING LOVE, I can’t help but love, HIM Back ,………..be careful for nothing, but in every thing by “PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION ” WITH THANKSGIVING”…let your request be made known to OUR FATHER JESUS, now that’s every thing, mr dale… thanks for that “sermon”, I needed that, to wake me up. Thanks again mr dale, may , OUR FATHER HOLY SPIRIT, continue to bless u ,always…Julia…
THAT SONG brings back some really great times – when life was simple and God’s presence was so easy to believe and enjoy!! Thanks for a delightful performance and interesting sermon to ponder.