Elizabeth Prentiss (October 26, 1818 – August 13, 1878) was an American author, and hymn writer whose devotional writings and gospel-centered life profoundly influenced 19th-century evangelical Christianity. Born in Portland, Maine, to Edward Payson, a renowned Congregationalist pastor, and Ann Louisa Shipman, she was the fifth of eight children in a deeply pious family that prayed thrice daily. After her father’s death from tuberculosis in 1827, she moved to New York City in 1831, making a public profession of faith at age 12, though her deeper spiritual awakening came in 1840 during a period of doubt. Prentiss’ preaching career unfolded through her pen rather than a pulpit, beginning with contributions to The Youth’s Companion at age 16 and expanding after her 1845 marriage to George Lewis Prentiss, a Presbyterian minister. Her sermons took the form of books like Stepping Heavenward (1869), a spiritual classic that guided readers toward godliness, and hymns like “More Love to Thee, O Christ,” penned in 1856 amid personal trials, including the loss of two children in 1852. Living in New Bedford, Massachusetts, then New York City, and later Dorset, Vermont, she ministered to the suffering through her writings, drawing from her own chronic illness and grief over losing Eddy (aged four) and Bessie (one month) within three months. Married to George, with whom she had six children—four surviving infancy: Annie, Minnie, George, and Henry—she died at age 59 in Dorset, Vermont, leaving a legacy of comforting and strengthening souls through her gospel-infused words.