The words from a much-loved hymn, "I need Thee every hour," express mankind's need for God.
Humanity's need for God is borne out by Mary Baker Eddy's scientific discovery that man without God would be speedily annihilated. Sometimes men find this out only when in the depths of despair. Mrs. Eddy knew this and wrote in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 166), "Failing to recover health through adherence to physiology and hygiene, the despairing invalid often drops them, and in his extremity and only as a last resort, turns to God." Then men cry out for the "living God" and for the peace and comfort that only God can give.
Every day mortals facing what the world calls "the cold and hard fact" that life and intelligence are in matter find that human ability is limited. If one is married, he may ask himself, "What is to become of my family when I am too old to work?" Or if not married, "Will I become a burden to someone—unwanted, unloved, or not needed?"
