It is unknown who wrote the African American spiritual ‘Standing in the Need’ but it became popular in the 20th century after it was published in James Weldon Johnson and his brother Rosamond Johnson’s The Book of American Negro Spirituals (1925).
‘Standing in the Need of Prayer’ lyrics
Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer;
Not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer.
Chorus:
It’s me, it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer;
It’s me, it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer.
Not the preacher, not the deacon, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer;
Not the preacher, not the deacon, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer. [Chorus]
Not my father, not my mother, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer;
Not my father, not my mother, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer. [Chorus]
Not the stranger, not my neighbor, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer;
Not the stranger, not my neighbor, but it’s me, O Lord,
Standin’ in the need of prayer. [Chorus]