What a Friend We Have in Jesus
An invitation to bring every trouble to Jesus in prayer.
The words are public domain. We print a hymn only after checking it word for word against a dated old printing, and this one hasn’t been checked yet. Hymnary has it now.
“What a Friend We Have in Jesus” at HymnaryAbout this hymn
The hymn tells the singer to take sins, griefs, trials and weakness to Jesus in prayer, because he knows our weakness and does not turn anyone away.
It rests on Jesus calling his disciples friends (John 15:15) and on Paul's words, 'in every thing by prayer and supplication... let your requests be made known unto God' (Philippians 4:6).
It is sung in any season. Joseph Scriven, an Irishman living in Canada, wrote it in 1855 to comfort his mother.
For musicians and planners
| Words | Joseph Medlicott Scriven, 1855 | Public domain |
|---|---|---|
| Tune | CONVERSE · Charles Crozat Converse, 1868 | Public domain |
Checked 2026-09-27 against hymnary.org text, tune and person pages (attribution and rights only). The words are not transcribed here yet.
Hymn numbers checked against Hymnary.org’s index of Evangelical Lutheran Worship. Full record: Hymnary.