Wednesday Worship - September 23, 2015

Welcome back to Wednesday Worship!

I remember being effected so deeply the first time I heard, I Need Thee Every Hour...

The lyrics resonate with me so much.  Not just because they speak peace to my anxious tendencies, but because they remind me that in this sinful body, temptation can come every hour, and I have a God who is always present telling me, "This is the way, walk in it" or when I have a decision to make and need discernment, my God is there for me to show me His will.

An ever present help in times of trouble.

Psalm 46:1

The hymn is written by Annie Sherwood Hawks (1835-1918).   Annie had a gift for writing verse.  Her pastor, Dr. Robert Lowry, who himself was a prominent writer of Gospel songs, encouraged Annie's gift for poetry.

"In a personal account of the genesis of "I Need Thee Every Hour": Annie writes, "One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular household tasks during a bright June morning [in 1872]. Suddenly, I became so filled with the sense of nearness to the Master that, wondering how one could live without Him, either in joy or pain, these words were ushered into my mind, the thought at once taking full possession of me -- 'I Need Thee Every Hour. . . .'"

Dr. Robert Lowry added a refrain as he wrote the music for the hymn.

Following the death of her husband, Hawks reflected on the power of her song: "I did not understand at first why this hymn had touched the great throbbing heart of humanity. It was not until long after, when the shadow fell over my way, the shadow of a great loss, that I understood something of the comforting power in the words which I had been permitted to give out to others in my hour of sweet serenity and peace."

{The above history was found on www.umcdiscipleship.org}

I NEED THEE EVERY HOUR

1. I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord; 

no tender voice like thine can peace afford. 

Refrain: 

I need thee, O I need thee; 

every hour I need thee; 

O bless me now, my Savior, I come to thee. 

2. I need thee every hour; stay thou nearby; 

temptations lose their power when thou art nigh. 

(Refrain) 

3. I need thee every hour, in joy or pain; 

come quickly and abide, or life is vain. 

(Refrain) 

4. I need thee every hour; teach me thy will; 

and thy rich promises in me fulfill. 

(Refrain) 

5. I need thee every hour, most Holy One; 

O make me thine indeed, thou blessed Son. 

(Refrain) 

Please enjoy listening to Bill & Gloria Gaither (feat. Randy Owen) sing I Need Thee Every Hour.