I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain.
Words: Annie S. Hawks, 1872. Music: Robert Lowry
his hymn is completely packed with encouraging lyrics to the point where an essay could easily be written for each stanza. If I had to choose (and I am) the most prominent stanza that speaks to me, it is this:
I need thee every hour in joy or pain
Come quickly and abide or life is vain.
I first heard this song on Fernando Ortega’s Hymns & Meditations album about 14 years ago and that is still my favorite version because of the authenticity with which he sings these lyrics; the listener has the sense that he is expressing a true prayer and devotion from his heart.
According to “Great Hymn Stories” Annie S. Hawks based this hymn, after the initial inspiration, on John 15. However, this particular stanza brings to mind Philippians 4:10-12:
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
Whatever state I am in, in joy or in pain, I need the Lord. And life is like that. When she wrote the hymn, she was joyous. It wasn’t until years later she wrote:
Under the shadow of a great loss, I came to understand something of the comforting power of the words I had been permitted to give out to others in my hours of sweet serenity and peace.
We have seasons in life. Seasons of joy, seasons of pain, and everything in-between. As we continue in ministry, we will experience all of these situations. During the unjust beating and imprisonment of Paul and Silas, for casting out a demon from a poor girl no less, they were full of joy. Those two, in the midnight hour, shackled in a rat-invested basement without medical attention to their wounds could easily have been singing something like this:
I need thee every hour in joy or in pain
come with me and abide or life is vain
I need Thee oh I need Thee
Every hour I need Thee
Come bless me now my Saviour
I come to Thee
For Thought & Discussion:
- Why Did I Write this?
- Scriptures to dig into:
- What is the relationship between joy and pain?
- What are your thoughts about this stanza?
- Are there any other verses that back up this lyric theologically?
- Have you used this song lately? Have you explained it?
hen you become part of mass transportation, you have to learn to share, kind of like pre-school, only for grown-ups.
I realize that the topic of this blog post is an anomaly for this site; however, I thought I’d share some of my thoughts as a first-timer.
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