What A Friend We Have In Jesus

Shane & Shane perform “What A Friend We Have In Jesus,” the hymn Joseph Scriven wrote in the 1850s as a comfort for his mother, who was ill in Ireland while he lived in Canada. Charles Converse later set the words to the tune most congregations still sing.

The first verse calls Jesus a friend who bears all our sins and griefs, and describes it as a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. The second verse laments how much peace people often forfeit and how much needless pain they bear because they do not carry their troubles to him. The next verse asks if there are trials and temptations or trouble anywhere, and answers that we should never be discouraged but take it to the Lord in prayer. It then asks where one could find so faithful a friend who will share all our sorrows. Shane & Shane add a short bridge in their own words: Jesus knows every weakness, and the singers give everything to him. The last verse addresses the weak and heavy-laden, who are told that he is a refuge and that his arms will shield them when friends despise or forsake them. The hymn treats prayer as friendship and not as a formal duty, and the duo's gentle guitars and harmonies match that tone. It suits a prayer meeting, a hospital visit or a quiet evening service.

Presenting every request to God is Philippians 4:6. Casting your cares on him is 1 Peter 5:7, and rest for the weary and heavy laden is Matthew 11:28.