Hymns Composed by a Simple Housewife 

Many hymns are composed as a result of extraordinary events or life experiences. However, this is not always the case. Take, for example, the song “I Need The Every Hour” or, as it is titled in the Hymnal, ”Ya Tuhan, Tiap Jam”. Nothing particularly significant or extraordinary happened to prompt its writing.

This song is one of the most popular hymns, frequently sung during church services, family worship, prayer meetings and memorial services. Owing to its immense popularity, H.L. Cermat, in his book “A History of Selected Hymns”, refers to the hymn “O Lord, Every Hour” as “A Hymn for Everyday Life”.

A Housewife

The song’s lyricist, Annie Sherwood Hawks, was born in 1836. She lived in a small village in the state of New York, United States. As a young girl, she possessed extraordinary talent. Although she never completed her schooling, she had a keen interest in reading and writing. By the age of 14, she was already writing poems that  were published in the local newspaper.

In 1859, Annie married Charles Hial Hawks and moved to Brooklyn, New York. They joined the Hanson Place Baptist Church. The minister there was Dr Robert Lowry, who was also a poet and musician. Upon discovering Annie Hawks’s talent, he encouraged her to write some hymns.

Among Annie Sherwood Hawks’ 400 compositions, the most famous is the hymn she wrote one bright spring morning in 1872.

Annie recounted her testimony as follows: “I wrote that song one morning many years ago. Amidst the hustle and bustle at home, I felt the Lord’s presence so close. I wondered to myself, how on earth could anyone live without Him, whether in joy or sorrow. It was then that the words came to mind: ‘Lord, my hope at all times.’ I then sat by a window on that cool day in June. I picked up a pen, and the words began to flow onto the paper……”

Why Is It So Famous?

The following Sunday, Annie showed the lyrics of her poem to her pastor. Reverend Lowry was very taken with them. Reverend Lowry then composed the melody and added the choral parts, whilst sitting at the small organ in the sitting room of his home in Brooklyn.

In November 1872, the song was sung for the first time at a meeting of the National Baptist Sunday School Association in Cincinnati, Ohio. Everyone loved the new song. Soon it began to be printed in hymn books and spread to other countries.

Someone once asked Annie Hawks about the fame of ‘O Lord, Every Hour’. The humble lady replied, ”I myself do not quite understand why the song touches and moves the hearts of so many people.”

Sixteen years later, in 1888, Annie Hawks began to understand why. That year, her beloved husband passed away. Amidst her grief, Annie shared, “It was only much later, when the shadow of sorrow enveloped my life—the shadow of great loss—that I understood the power of comfort in the words I had been allowed to share with others during my moments of calm and peace.”

As a widow, Annie Hawks then moved from New York City to live with her daughter. And throughout her life, right up until her death in 1918, the hymns she composed continued to help and strengthen her as she faced various struggles.

To this day, Christians around the world draw support and strength from that hymn. They reflect on each line of the lyrics written by a simple housewife amidst her seemingly ordinary daily life. The hymn “O Lord, Every Hour” continues to this day to bring comfort and peace to the hearts of many people.