The other day, as I went about my daily work, I found myself humming a familiar hymn: I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord…

The stories behind our most beloved hymns are fascinating to me, so I took a few minutes to research this one.

“I Need Thee Every Hour” was penned in 1872 by Annie Hawks (music by her pastor, Robert Lowry).

In Annie’s own words:

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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