“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” was a poem for a mother across an ocean

Joseph Scriven wrote the words of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” for one reader: his mother, who was ill and far away in Ireland.

Scriven had emigrated to Canada, and around 1855 he sent her a poem to comfort her. He did not intend it for publication. It was published later, and when the American composer Charles Crozat Converse set it to music in 1868, it became one of the most widely sung hymns in the world.

Joseph Scriven

Scriven was born in 1819 in Ireland and studied at Trinity College Dublin. According to accounts of his life, he suffered deep personal loss: his fiancée is reported to have drowned shortly before their wedding. Some years later he moved to Canada, where he worked as a tutor and lived simply, helping the poor and people who could not pay. He became engaged again, but his second fiancée died of illness before they could marry.

Scriven is remembered in Port Hope, Ontario, where he lived, and where a monument stands in his memory. He died in 1886.

A hymn about prayer

The hymn’s central message is that believers can bring every trouble to God in prayer: “What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.” It admits that people forfeit peace and bear needless pain because they do not pray. It speaks of trials, temptations, weakness and loneliness, and it keeps returning to one answer: take it to the Lord in prayer.

Around the world

The hymn became a favourite of missionaries and was translated into many languages. In Japan and South Korea its melody became well known, and in West Africa it is sung in English, Twi, Ga, Ewe, Yoruba, Igbo and other languages in churches of many denominations. It is a regular at funerals and prayer meetings.

Why it works

The language is warm and personal. It describes Jesus as a friend as well as a king and judge. Its melody is simple and easy to learn. And its message is practical: when life is heavy, pray.

A reflection

Many believers turn to prayer as a last resort, after trying everything else. Scriven’s poem suggests starting there. This week, before the day’s problems grow, take five minutes each morning to bring them to God one by one, the way the hymn describes.

A prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for being a friend who carries our burdens. Teach me to bring everything to you in prayer, the small things along with the big. Where I have carried needless pain, give me your peace. Amen.

Scriven wrote it to one sick mother in Ireland. It has since been sung beside countless sickbeds by people who have never heard his name.