I Need Thee Every Hour....

Romans 15:4:
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
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I am finding great comfort in the Scriptures......early on, just days after losing my sweet prince a friend gave my girls and I journals - mine has this message written inside:

September 2009
My prayer is that you will use this journal to record your memories, thoughts and feelings, fears and anxieties, praises and meditations of worship, as you and the Lord walk through the time ahead.

One day, Lord willing, when you look back and read, these writings will testify of the Lord's continual presence and blessing in your life.

For His Glory,
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This journal has been a source of release and truly is a record of what, thus far the Lord has done in my life during this valley. It has been three months and I have it filled 1/3 of the way. Just a few pages into it I wrote this: When feeling despair open the WORD and read!!!

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He is always there to strengthen and encourage us.....through perseverance in Him we gain understanding and He guides us to the places we need to be. His Word. There is a hymn I love and have sung in my heart and mind many, many times the past three months.

"I Need Thee Every Hour" Annie Hawks 1835-1918

Annie Hawks wrote:
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.

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After writ­ing the lyr­ics, Hawks gave them to her pas­tor, Ro­bert Low­ry, who add­ed the tune and re­frain. The hymn was first pub­lished at the Na­tion­al Bap­tist Sun­day School Con­ven­tion in Cin­cin­na­ti, Ohio, in No­vem­ber 1872. Some years lat­er, af­ter the death of her hus­band, Hawks wrote:
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.

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I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;

No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.
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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.
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I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;

Come quickly and abide, or life is in vain.
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I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;

And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.
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I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;

O make me Thine indeed, Thou blessèd Son.
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