What A Friend We Have In Jesus

Newsboys give the old hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" a modern treatment, but the words stay fixed on one plain idea: whatever weighs on you can be carried "to God in prayer." The first verse calls that a privilege, then names the cost of ignoring it, "O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear."

The second verse gets specific about the pressure. Trials, temptations and "trouble anywhere" are met with the instruction that "we should never be discouraged." The third verse explains why that confidence is reasonable: a friend "so faithful" shares every sorrow, and Jesus "knows our every weakness." Prayer in this song is not a performance but a habit of handing things over to someone who already understands them.

The refrain "take it to the Lord in prayer" lines up with Paul's instruction to bring every request to God with thanksgiving in Philippians 4:6, and with Peter's invitation to cast all anxiety on Him in 1 Peter 5:7. The line about Jesus knowing our weakness echoes Hebrews 4:15, where Christ is described as a high priest who sympathizes with human frailty.