安妮·霍克斯（Annie S. Hawks）. Explore “I Need Thee Every Hour”: song information and official sources.
The pilgrim journey · Prayer and drawing near
Hawks wrote this hymn during a particularly peaceful period of family life. She described being surrounded by peace and domestic security; only after a major loss did she personally discover the comfort of these lines. That background is worth sharing with a congregation. Our need for the Lord is always real, but peaceful days can conceal it until trouble forces us to see. The poem's repeated emphasis on every hour is not exaggerated piety. It puts into everyday language “apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). Both words and melody are very simple, making it suitable for opening a prayer meeting and for teaching to new believers.
Prayer meetings and devotions; visiting people who are ill or grieving; teaching on dependence or grace in weakness.