“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” is a well-known Christian hymn that is arranged for Level 3/Easy Piano. You can check out its MP3 file at MakingMusicFun.net. Students may also find the recording helpful as they learn this inspirational piece.
What a Friend We Have in Jesus for Easy Piano
Lyrics of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”
What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer!
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer!
About the Composer
Joseph M. Scriven was born in Seapatrick, County Down, Ireland, in 1819. He later immigrated to Canada, where he wrote the hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” near Port Hope, Ontario, in 1855. Scriven’s life was marked by grief and trials, and he found solace in the Lord, as expressed in his famous hymn.
Scriven was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, but poor health prevented him from pursuing a military career. Tragically, his fiancée drowned on the eve of their wedding in 1844. He moved to Ontario that same year and worked as a school teacher in Woodstock and Brantford. In 1855, another potential marriage ended in tragedy when his bride-to-be passed away after a short illness. Scriven faced financial difficulties and relied on the hospitality of others. He lived a humble life, practicing the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount as a member of the Plymouth Brethren. He generously gave to the poor and performed menial tasks for the underprivileged.
Scriven battled depression, and it remains unclear whether his death by drowning in Rice Lake was intentional or accidental. He wrote “What a Friend” to bring comfort to his sick mother in Dublin, possibly after the loss of his second fiancée. When asked about the hymn, Scriven humbly attributed it to the collaboration between himself and the Lord.
The text was initially published anonymously in Horace Hastings’s Social Hymns, Original and Selected (1865), but Scriven was properly credited in Hastings’s Songs of Pilgrimage (1886). The well-known tune by Charles C. Converse was later paired with Scriven’s lyrics by Ira D. Sankey in his hymnals starting from 1875.
Although Scriven’s text may not be considered great poetry, it resonates spiritually and contains the powerful recurring phrase, “take it to the Lord in prayer.” Its simple encouragement to maintain a continuous prayerful connection has endeared the hymn to many Christian communities. Scriven’s other poetry was published in Hymns and Other Verses (1869).
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