A Hymn for Busy Mothers (And the Rest of Us, Too)

Annie Sherwood Hawks, a 19th-century hymn writer, found her voice as a poet while in the busy season of  motherhood and homemaking.

Although she penned more than 400 hymns, it is her enduring classic, "I Need Thee Every Hour," that continues to resonate with believers today.

As a wife and mother of three, Annie was engaged in ordinary household tasks when she keenly felt the nearness of Christ.

In that moment, she was struck by the realization that life, in both its joy and sorrow, was impossible without Him.

The phrase that came to her—“I need Thee every hour”—formed the heart of a hymn that would touch countless lives. Her pastor, Dr. Robert Lowry, recognized her poetic gift and helped bring her hymn to the public by composing its music and adding the well-known refrain.

Years after her hymn was published and after her husband died, Annie wrote the following: "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."

I Need Thee Every Hour

by Annie S. Hawks, 1872

I need Thee every hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.

Refrain:
I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Ev'ry hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour,
Stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their pow’r
When Thou art nigh. 

I need Thee every hour,
In joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide,
Or life is vain.

I need Thee every hour,
Teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises
In me fulfill. [Refrain]