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.
As Christians, you and I are not made for this world – it’s why we need God every hour. Why is that? Well, our hands, feet, eyes, and ears equip us for physical experiences on this planet made of water and dirt – our ears process sound, our eyes register sights, our noses sniff fragrances, our stomachs digest food. All these things are so very, very physical.
But at the same time, you and I are also spirit. God has set eternity in the heart of man and that’s why we squirm and groan and itch and yearn and long for something that this world with all its physical-ness can never give. And it makes for incredible tension, don’t you agree? We are the repository of things physical and things spiritual – no wonder we struggle!
In one sense you and I are made for this world, in another sense, we’re not – earth is temporal, and we are eternal. This is why we need the Lord every single hour. He is the only one who has ever bridged the physical and the heavenly. Only in him do we find satisfaction and relief in the midst of this tension between earth and heaven. Jesus says, “Do not worry about your life… few things are needed… indeed only one thing is needed,” says our Lord. “Your relationship to me.”
Friend, if you’re feeling the tension today; if you’re struggling, if you are finding it hard to reconcile the hopes and aches and yearnings within your soul, reconcile them with the weariness and daily-ness of life here on earth, then ease that tension a bit ’cause few things are needed, says Jesus. What is needed is for you and I to say and sing… Lord, I need Thee every hour. No, every 15 min… no, 10… every second, Jesus, I need you.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends