I need Thee every hour,It has been rewritten and revamped up until modern days. Joey+Rory did it, the Winans, the Gaithers, Selah. It's a personal and touching song. But ... is it true?
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.
I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior!
I come to Thee.
There are two aspects in answering that question. The first is "Do I really need Him?" The deists (or the practical deists) might say, "No. We've got this. We can do most of it. I might need Him sometimes, but ... 'every hour'? Not really." But is it true? Scripture says, "In Him all things hold together" (Col 1:17). Scripture says, "From Him and through Him and to Him are all things" (Rom 11:36). At the very least, "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow" (James 1:17). We all need good things, right? Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Nothing. So ... actually ... yes. The statement is indeed true. We do need Him at all times because only in Him do all things hold together and only with Him can we do anything of any value.
That leaves us with the other side of the question, "Is it true?" Yes, we do need Him ... every hour. The hymn says He alone affords peace, that near Him temptations lose their power, that without Him life is vain. All true. So the other side of that question is ... is it true ... for you? Do you know that you need Him "every hour"? Are you deeply aware of your desperate and ongoing need for His presence at every moment? I would guess that most of us aren't. I would suggest that this should not be the case.
2 comments:
I for one need God every minute of every hour--not only regarding routine but vital physical activities such as keeping my heart beating and my lungs inhaling/exhaling, etc., but for the greater spiritual matters, including protection from Satan’s influence and power (i.e. from “our daily bread” to “deliver[ance] from evil”). As long as I am a sinner saved by grace, I will need Him--to maintain my status of being in Christ, forgiven through His blood, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. I am weak, imperfect, and “prone to wander” (to quote another good hymn). I am always in need, but because He is faithful to supply all my needs, I am never needy.
At any time, if you were to ask me if I need God,I would respond, "Yes, in every way, at every time." Unfortunately, like my failure to love Him with all my heart, mind, and strength, I fail to keep that in mind at all times.
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