I Need Thee

Dr. Rikki Permenter, Ph.D., Th. M.

Behold, God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.

Psalm 54:4

“I need thee every hour most gracious Lord. No tender voice like thine can peace afford. I need thee, oh! I need thee. Every hour I need thee. Oh bless me now my savior I come to thee.” These lyrics to a popular hymn have run through my mind regularly over the past few months. What does it mean to need someone or something?

In American culture the idea of being free from need is prized over dependence on any person or thing. We are taught at a young age not to depend on others, rather to be independent. Needing the Lord is not something that doesn’t come naturally to the American Christian because we are trained not to need.

Over the last two months I have become keenly aware of needing something every hour. As you guys know, I had a baby in January. That baby needs me. For a solid month she awakened every hour, like clockwork needing to eat. As I would sit and feed her that sweet hymn “I need thee … oh! I need thee” would run through my mind. The Lord has been impressing upon me the question “When was the last time you truly acknowledged your need for me every hour?”

Take some time this month to reflect on your need for the Lord. Maybe you don’t have a newborn baby to remind you every hour but you can set and alarm on your phone to remind you to reflect upon your dependence. Take time to acknowledge all the ways in which He sustains you every hour.

This article can be found in print in the monthly Baptist Association of Southeast Louisiana newsletter.