This song is a great two-way chat to have with the Lord. Give it a listen, then come back and let me introduce you to the man who wrote it. His story is an inspiration!

Simple song … and powerful

“Only Believe” is a very simple song. The melody, the words — nothing fancy. It probably would not impress the judges on a huge TV show like “Got Talent”.

But if you hear it sung around a campfire some peaceful starlit evening, it can change your life.

The song can remind us of this good lesson on how to receive anything from God:
1) Learn what God promises is available
2) Believe His promise
3) Receive — and put His blessing to work in your life
4) Repeat these steps

Who would write a song like this?

So, what does it take to be able to write such a simple but powerful song? In this case, you’d need to combine a bellboy with a cowboy, a prospector, a football player, and a pugilist (boxer) to come up with a person who would write a song like this.

Our song writer, Paul Rader, described himself as an ex-bellboy, ex-cowboy, ex-prospector, ex-football player, and ex-pugilist.

He is not especially remembered for doing any of these things.

His claim to fame? Rader was one of the most powerful evangelistic preachers of the early 20th century.

Paul Rader was born around 1878 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, son of a Methodist Episcopal minister. By the time he became pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, Illinois (1915–21), he had collected the experiences listed above. He lived about 60 years, and apparently wasted little time. Other accomplishments:

• President of the Christian and Missionary Alliance
• Founded the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle in 1922 and pastored it for 11 years
• Wrote many gospel song lyrics and a few tunes
• Was instrumental in founding the Tabernacle Publishing Company
• Was a pioneer of Christian broadcasting
  (For several years Rader ran a 14-hour Christian radio program in Chicago every Sunday. Rader called his station “WJBT” – Where Jesus Blesses Thousands)

(Thanks to Hymntime.com and Wikipedia for this information. Please visit http://hymntime.com/tch/bio//r/a/d/e/rader_dp.htm and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Rader_(evangelist) to read more.)

Bring your “talent stack” to the Lord

Cartoonist Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) coined the idea of the “talent stack”. Adams offered that he was not especially a business expert, a great artist, or highly trained writer. Adams said, “When you add in my ordinary business skills, my strong work ethic, my risk tolerance, and my reasonably good sense of humor, I’m fairly unique. And in this case that uniqueness has commercial value.”

Some people excel at one skill. Composer G. F. Handel is probably a good example of that. (See the “Hallelujah Chorus” post.) But others excel by combining a “stack of skills” in a unique way. That was Scott Adam’s recipe for success. I’m thinking the same might be said of our song writer, Paul Rader — many life skills brought together to serve the Lord in a unique way.

Let’s combine the “talent stack” and the idea to “bloom where you are planted”. Every person can serve the Lord’s work right where they are and with the skills and experiences they already have. YES, learn more. YES, move as the Lord leads. Through it all, let’s confess “we can do now” and believe the Bible [Colossians 2] when it says:

…ye are complete in him [Christ], which is the head of all principality and power

and II Corinthians 9, which says:

…God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work

In service to the Lord, lets get started and move ahead with what have. Time is short. Handel used a lot of skill and inspiration to write the “Hallelujah” Chorus which has inspired millions of people over the past 250 years. Paul Rader, who won many for the Lord as a multi-faceted evangelist, publisher, and radio pioneer, gave us “Only Believe”, a much simpler song, not even close to the grandeur of “Hallelujah Chorus”. But isn’t it instructive that both pieces of music are STILL doing the Lord’s work right up to this very day as members in good standing of the the Lord’s music repertoire!?! Both works remain a huge blessing in the right setting.

What a joy that you and I have life and the same great big wonderful God these two productive men had — and WE get to put our hand to doing things for Him, too! Doubts will fly away if we’ll only believe!

God bless you lots,
—Dale R.

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LYRICS: Only Believe
Words and music by Paul Rader

Only believe,
Only believe,
All things are possible,
Only believe.
Only believe,
Only believe,
All things are possible,
Only believe.

Lord, I believe,
Lord, I believe,
All things are possible,
Lord, I believe.
Lord, I believe,
Lord, I believe,
All things are possible,
Lord, I believe.

Lord, I receive,
Lord, I receive,
All things are possible,
Lord, I receive.
Lord, I receive,
Lord, I receive,
All things are possible,
Lord, I receive.

Say hello … leave a note … add your thoughts

Please feel free to add your thoughts to this conversation. Scroll to the bottom of the page and jot your note in the “comments” box just below the “Leave a reply” title. Easy! Thanks!
— Dale R.

Published January 10, 2020.
Reposted with minor changes to video and notes February 5, 2026.