Mormon Tabernacle Choir - I Need Thee Every Hour Lyrics

This hymn is a short prayer of dependence. Each verse begins with the same confession, "I need thee every hour," and then names a particular need: peace that only a tender voice can give, protection from temptation, and a life made fully belonging to Christ.

The second verse says temptations lose their power when the Lord is near. That thought is close to 1 Corinthians 10:13, which speaks of God providing a way through testing. The picture of staying near to Christ also recalls John 15:5, where Jesus says that apart from Him nothing can be done.

The chorus is a plain request for blessing and an act of coming to the Savior, repeated after every verse so that the congregation ends each stanza with the same prayer. The older pronouns thee, thou and thine give it the tone of a traditional hymnal. This recording is by a large choir, and the unhurried words stay centered on need and trust rather than on any claim of strength.