EVERY HOUR

by Cynthia Ruchti

I'm not needy.

Except all the time.

It could be the upcoming time change that got me thinking about it--fall back. Or my deadlines. Or the other projects that seem bent on keeping me from my deadlines.

Or it could be the consciousness of my hollowness without the fullness of God's Spirit within me.

Something imprinted this decades-old song on my soul: "I Need Thee Every Hour." Matt Maher's version expresses it, "Lord I Need You." I played it just now to anchor my thoughts and found this version, which took my breath away for so many reasons. The tears. The people in the crowd. The posture of the leadership. The artist's position--kneeling. Kneeling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eX5BeXkNZU

If you're like me, you'll probably play it again to catch what you missed the first time through, or to let the foundational truth settle deep in your soul. My one Defense. My Righteousness. Every hour, I need You.

At a recent conference, one of the speakers reminded us that the truest sign of trust is when we lie "limp in His lap," confident that He watches, He cares, He is working on our behalf even in the situations that would naturally put us on high alert.

Unashamedly, we say, "Lord, I need You. Every hour."

But we're intelligent, well-reasoned people. We do our research. We work hard. We study and learn and grow and mature. Why this consciousness of our dependence?

Breath.

That's a start.

We need Him to save us from ourselves, from selfish ambitions and less-than-holy responses. We need Him for our character development, to help us grow--as Jesus did--full of grace and truth.

We need God to steer us to the best choices from among the multitude of options in everything from time usage to food intake to jobs to homes to relationships to problem-solving.

We need Him because His Word makes it clear that "Without Him, we can do nothing" (John 15:5), and life proves the point daily.

May we write, work, live, love, serve on our knees, "Lord, I need You" on our lips.



When in recent days have you been most conscious of your desperate need for Him?