You who live in heaven
Hear the prayers of those of us who live on earth
Who are afraid of being left by those we love
And who get hardened by the hurt

Do you remember when You lived down here where we all scrape
To find the faith to ask for daily bread
Did You forget about us after You had flown away
Well I memorized every word You said

Still I'm so scared, I'm holding my breath
While You're up there just playing hard to get

You who live in radiance
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in skin
We have a love that's not as patient as Yours was
Still we do love now and then

Did You ever know loneliness
Did You ever know need
Do You remember just how long a night can get?
When You were barely holding on
And Your friends fall asleep
And don't see the blood that's running in Your sweat

Will those who mourn be left uncomforted
While You're up there just playing hard to get?

And I know you bore our sorrows
And I know you feel our pain
And I know it would not hurt any less
Even if it could be explained

And I know that I am only lashing out
At the One who loves me most
And after I figured this, somehow
All I really need to know

Is if You who live in eternity
Hear the prayers of those of us who live in time
We can't see what's ahead
And we can not get free of what we've left behind
I'm reeling from these voices that keep screaming in my ears
All the words of shame and doubt, blame and regret

I can't see how You're leading me unless You've led me here
Where I'm lost enough to let myself be led
And so You've been here all along I guess
It's just Your ways and You are just plain hard to get


Lyrics submitted by Midorrian

Hard to Get song meanings
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3 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment

    This is one of the greatest songs of all time. Rich Never got to record a studio version because he dies in a car accident. This song defines how God can feel so far away sometimes. It also shows how Christ suffered, not just on the cross, but daily for us. He was a man of no reputation. He did it all for us.

    Loved7on April 12, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Rich Mullins ranting to God. Somehow, it seems strange, yet highly believable. He always had a way of taking the human struggle with the divine and poetically expressing it with perfection and true honesty.

    davim00on June 25, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Here's the situation this song is written into in my opinion.

    Have you completely committed your life to Christ, then find some days you still feel empty and alone? This is where I think Rich was when he wrote hard to get.

    What he gives here reminds me of a lot of what C.S. Lewis says as well about why that is. God is home, we are in the far country.

    Each verse here gives a different slant on the situation we're in here and why God feels far away. It's because we're far away.

    You live in heaven, hear the prayers of those of us who live on earth

    You live eternity, hear the prayers of those of us who live in time

    You live in radiance, hear the prayers of those of us who live in skin

    The answer to the question "why do we feel so far from God?" is because our sin has broken us down and put us in a different place. We are weak. Lewis' answer as to why God doesn't speak with us face to face is that he can't 'Til We Have Faces. So God is hard to get, but not impossible.

    JVANDYKEon October 02, 2011   Link

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