Scott Stephens is the founder and director of Covenant Counseling Center, and the counseling pastor at West End Baptist Church’s West End Counseling Center.
Scott serves as the executive director of the Upcountry Biblical Counseling Training Center. Scott earned his MA in Biblical Counseling at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and his PhD in Biblical Counseling at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Scott is an Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) certified biblical counselor with a specialization in marriage and family counseling. Scott is currently a “Fellow Candidate” with ACBC.
Lord, I Need You!
For the past week, I’ve had the words of a song by Matt Maher next to my computer, and I’ve found myself singing them as a prayer.
Lord, I need You, oh, I need You.
Every hour, I need you.
My one defense, my righteousness,
Oh God, how I need You.
You should be familiar with this song because it is popular in the church today. Providentially, we sang it during worship as we prepared for our prayer night. What a perfect song to sing before we come before the throne of God in prayer! Every time we sing this song, we humbly acknowledge that we are helpless without Him.
This song resonates with me because, by default, I rely too much on myself. God, in His grace, shows me this weakness more clearly each day.
Sadly, I don’t always acknowledge my helplessness. This evening, after reconsidering my day, I realized I’d lived through almost every hour without talking with the Father. The lack of prayer in my daily routine shows that, consciously or unconsciously, I’ve relied on myself to navigate the trials and problems I faced.
Self-reliance, not relying on God, is a sign of pride. As we go through our daily activities without seeking help, protection, and guidance from the Lord, we essentially say to the Sovereign of the universe, “I’ve got this! I don’t need your help.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to “pray without ceasing.” Proverbs 3:5-6 indicates that God wants us to rely on Him for guidance in all aspects of our lives. In this verse, we read, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
The Bible tells us that Jesus relied on God through prayer. I think we can agree he did this better than anyone. In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, we read that Jesus prayed about every situation in which He and the disciples found themselves. In Luke 6:12-13, we read that Jesus went to the mountain to pray, and he prayed for an entire night! This is the model for prayer that we should emulate. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he encouraged the church not to worry about anything but, in EVERYTHING, through prayer, petition, and thanksgiving, to make their requests known to the Lord (Philippians 4:6-7).
It’s important to realize that a lack of prayer is a lack of reliance on God. We are to place our cares, as well as our triumphs, at the foot of His throne. We do this through an active prayer life, acknowledging our Father and provider.
As we approach the dawn of each new day, we will do well to remember the words, “Lord, I need you, oh, I need you. Every hour, I need you!”
