Lyrics Page
Hard To Get
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Oct 25, 2026 updated
Verified editorial review
Song Meaning
A complaint addressed to heaven, written with Rich Mullins's usual candor. The singer addresses "You who live in heaven" on behalf of those "who are afraid of being left by those we love," and asks whether God remembers life down here "where we all scrape / to find the faith to ask for daily bread." The refrain accuses him of "just playing hard to get," and the tone is more ache than rebellion.
The second verse pushes the question into Christ's own suffering. "Did You ever know loneliness? / Did You ever know need?" it asks, recalling a night when "Your friends fall asleep / and don't see the blood that's running in Your sweat." The lyric then admits what it knows: "I know You bore our sorrows / I know You feel our pain," even though that "would not hurt any less / even if it could be explained."
Self-awareness arrives at the end. The singer recognizes that he is "lashing out / at the One who loves me most," and the turn comes in the bridge: "I can't see how You're leading me / unless You've led me here / to where I'm lost enough to let myself be led." Matthew 5:4 offers comfort to mourners, Isaiah 53:4 names the sorrows borne, Hebrews 4:15 says Christ sympathizes with weakness, and Matthew 6:11 is the daily-bread prayer.
Lyrics Verified by Editorial Team
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 in 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 are 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 that 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 have figured this somehow
What 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 cannot get free from what we've left behind
I'm reeling from these voices that keep screamin' in my ears
All these words of shame and doubt, blame and regret
I can't see how You're leading me
Unless You've led me here
To 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