Story Behind The Song

In 1974, Laurie Klein was a 24-year-old wife and mother struggling to keep her family afloat. Her husband, Bill, was a full-time student at Central Oregon Community College, and Laurie often felt isolated socially. "It was a dark time in my life. We had no extra money, no friends nearby, no church home, and my husband was busy all of the time with his studies. We lived on a highway in a mobile home, so I couldn't even put the baby in a stroller and go for a walk. I was lonely." During early mornings, Laurie would pull out her Bible and guitar and begin praying and singing songs. Laurie Klein Photo courtesy of Laurie Klein One morning, she started strumming on the guitar and the first two lines of "I Love You, Lord" came out of her mouth with virtually no effort. "I had just been studying about the need to praise God in all things, so those words meant a lot to me," she says. The last two lines of the song followed just as effortlessly. Weeks later, a friend of the Klein's?a pastor and musician?visited Laurie and Bill to encourage them. Bill insisted that Laurie sing her new song for him. Their friend liked "I Love You, Lord" so much that he took it to a national church convention in California and sang it for the thousands of church leaders gathered there. It became the theme song for the convention. As a result, it went home with pastors from all over the world, and within a year Laurie was getting phone calls from people who wanted more information about the song. Today, Laurie's simple prayer has become one of the most popular praise songs of all time. "It changed everything for me," she says. And 30 years later, it's still touching lives.

Song Description

Laurie's simple prayer has become one of the most popular praise songs of all time. "It changed everything for me," she says. And 30 years later, it's still touching lives.

Lyrics

I love you, Lord
And I lift my voice
To worship You
Oh, my soul rejoice!
Take joy my King
In what You hear
Let it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear

Top 10 List	Rank
Jazz - Religious	#8