Portals Into God's Presence: I Need Thee

In the midst of Bible Study last night, the Holy Spirit whispered something into my soul: We—as a society and in the body of Christ —are suffering from an over reliance of self. We take pride in being independent, not needing anybody, not even God. We may not express this in words, but our actions—my actions—speak this fact. And this "I can do it all by myself" behavior is hampering our relationship with God.  But the mark of a Christian, and at the core of our salvation, is a public proclamation that we need God. To love God, to serve God, to trust God, to have faith in God, we must surrender our need to be in control of everything. We must proclaim and live out our hymn of the day. I don't know about you, but I need God in ministry. I need God in my marriage. I need God in my parenting. I need God when I'm on the running trail. I need God in my sermon preparation. I need God when I'm preaching. I need God when I'm balancing my checkbook. I need God in my decision making. I need God in everything that I do.

Beloved, won't you sing with me—and dare to live out—the fiercely radical statement, "I need thee..."

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 Savior, I come to thee.

I need thee every hour; stay thou nearby; 

temptations lose their power 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. 

I need thee every hour, most Holy One; 

O make me thine indeed, thou blessed Son. 

Here is Bishop Paul Morton singing a rendition of the song, the stanzas are his own, but the sentiment  (and the refrain) is the same as the original song. Let it minister to your soul...