Her pastor saw real talent in her poetry. Robert Lowry, pastor of Hanson Place Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York urged Anne Hawks (1836-1918) to try her hand at writing hymns. When Anne sent Robert a copy of her simple five-stanza hymn, he recognized its potential. “It inspired me at its first reading,” he said later. He added the refrain and supplied the tune, and the song took off. It quickly became one of the most popular hymns in 19th-century America. Anne described how “I Need Thee Every Hour” came into being, “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 head, the thought at once taking full possession of me. Sitting by the open window of the balmy air on a bright June day, I caught my pencil, and the words soon connected to paper, almost as they are being sung today.” “I need thee” repeats twenty times in a span of five verses. The phrase both recognizes our limits and expresses confidence in God’s ability to supply what we need. I need thee in temptation (stanza 2), in joy and pain (stanza 3), and in my quest to do God’s will (stanza 4). After the death of Anne’s husband, she reflected on her hymn in a whole new light, “I did not understand at first why the hymn had touched the great throbbing heart of humanity. It was not 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.” Anne’s treasured hymn leads us into prayer today:
Anne Hawks
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.
I need thee every hour, stay thou nearby;
temptations lose their power when thou art nigh.
(Refrain)
I need thee every hour, in joy or pain;
come quickly and abide, or life is vain.
(Refrain)
I need thee every hour; teach me thy will;
and rich promises in me fulfill.
(Refrain)
I need thee every hour, most Holy One;
O make me thine indeed, thou blessed Son.
(Refrain)
Michael Hawn, “History of Hymns: I Need Thee Every Hour”
Rev. Dr. Peter James served 42 years as the senior of Vienna Presbyterian Church in Vienna, VA — 21 years in the 20th century and 21 years in the 21st century. He retired in 2021 and now serves as Pastor-in-Residence at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
Even as a pastor, prayer came slowly to Pete. Read Pete’s story.