“What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” (New Century Hymnal, No. 506) 

     My earliest recollections of this hymn have much to do with a two-cylinder John Deere and the sound of my father’s voice. Dad always sings when he drives a tractor and, in days gone by, when none of the tractors on our farm had cabs on them, dads’ voice could be heard a quarter mile away singing a variety of his favorite songs, passing the time while he traveled from one end of the field to the other. “What a Friend We Have In Jesus” was one of those songs that dad sang often (and still does today) and, by osmosis, has become one of my favorites that I sing today, too. 

     What a friend we have in Jesus . . . beyond the words of the song, have you ever considered the statement that is made here? “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!” That thought has always awed me: In Jesus, God listens to every word I dare to pray, out loud or silently. And today, sitting in my office, hearing the words and tune of that old favorite hymn swirling in my mind, I give thanks to God for those who taught me that most important lesson: my dad, who sings in the field; my mom, whose gifts at organ and piano give life to notes and enable them to become music; my home congregation of Holy Ghost U.C.C., Darmstadt, whose members, even today, sing with all their hearts each hymn selected for worship; my Sunday School teachers who tolerated me when I was young . . . in their witness for Jesus I was enabled to grow in the faith; and my brothers who, through all of the disagreements, wrestling and posturing, have always remained ‘my brothers’ whose faith and love has made the challenges of life less foreboding and frightening. “What a friend we have in Jesus . . .” who inspires His children to lead others in faith that all might be ‘at home’ and ‘at one’ with God. 

     I pray that you are as much, if not more, ‘at home’ and ‘at one’ with God through Jesus Christ. I pray that you have been blessed to have those before you who have shown you the way towards Jesus and the access to heavenly blessings in God. I pray that you are a blessing to others, one that children and adults alike might be willing to lift up as an example in faith that made a difference in their life. I pray that Jesus is a trusted friend to whom you turn in every moment of your day, simply because you have found you can because He is a true friend. And I pray to my friend Jesus for you: that your heart would be full of love, that your soul would abound in joy, and that your mind would always be in awe of One who so knows you as you are and loves you anyway . . . in this life and in the life to come. 

“In His arms He’ll take and shield you, you will find a solace there.” 

                                                                                                          Your servant in Christ