I Need Thee Every Hour

This hymn, written by Annie Hawks, touches me deeply.  I feel exactly what she was writing about.  This is what she wrote about the hymn:

"One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular household tasks. 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, “I Need Thee Every Hour,” were ushered into my mind, the thought at once taking full possession of me."

I feel that way every day - that I need God every hour.  I can never do this mothering/homeschooling/wifey thing without God.  The kids and I sing a few hymns during our Bible study time and I love it when we sing this song.  Here are the words:

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
I need Thee, O, I need Thee; every hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Saviour, I come to Thee!

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their power when Thou art nigh.
I need Thee, O, I need Thee; every hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Saviour, I come to Thee!

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is vain.
I need Thee, O, I need Thee; every hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Saviour, I come to Thee!

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.
I need Thee, O, I need Thee; every hour I need Thee!
O bless me now, my Saviour, I come to Thee!

Teaching the kids hymns has been such a blessing.  I never realized as a kid how chock full of doctrine and truths they are.  Sometimes when we are singing our hearts out, I look at the kids and pray that God would burn the words to the songs on their hearts and minds so that they can call them to mind whenever they need them.

If you're interested in, or are already singing hymns with your kids, feel free to check out my pdf document that I have put together for our own little songbooks.  I have a hymn book and just flip through the pages until I come to a hymn that I already  know and add that to our own songbook.  I like to add pictures of the people who wrote the words and music of each song, as well as a little background info if I can find any.  I usually go to CyberHymnal for that.  I add 10 new songs at a time.  Right now, we are up to 80 songs.  I will be adding more, soon, so will be updating this file.  I'll let you know when I do!

Beware: I grew up a Southern Baptist preacher's daughter, so the hymns will reflect that.  ;-)