Song
How We Need the River
© New Glory International
Behind the song
The story behind How We Need the River
Written by
Terry MacAlmon
Terry MacAlmon context
One of Terry's earlier songs; recorded on The Sound of Heaven and included in later live collections
How We Need the River gives voice to spiritual thirst. Terry MacAlmon has named it among the songs that followed I Sing Praises in his earlier years of songwriting, and the imagery has remained deeply connected to his ministry ever since. The worshipper is pictured as dry and thirsty, longing for living water, renewal and the life of God.
The river is a rich biblical picture of God's life and presence. In Terry's song, it is not treated as a decorative metaphor. The need is urgent. Nothing else satisfies. The heart longs for God Himself, for His glory and grace, and for the freedom to worship in spirit and truth. The language of "deep calling to deep" gives the song the sense that worship answers a hunger placed in the human spirit by God.
This is one reason the song fits so naturally within The Sound of Heaven. Heavenly worship is not detached from human need. It is the answer of thirsty people who have discovered where the living water is found.
For Terry, worship has often been connected with refreshing, renewal and the river of the Holy Spirit. But the song keeps the order right: the river is needed because God is needed. The goal is not simply a better feeling or a more exciting service. The longing is for His life to flow again. How We Need the River remains important because it gives worshippers permission to admit their thirst and turn that thirst into prayer. In God's presence, need is not a disqualification. It becomes the very cry that draws the heart toward Him.
Watch
How We Need the River
Official release audio · Terry MacAlmon YouTube channel
The Glory of His Presence gathers some of the strongest worship moments from Terry MacAlmon's first major live-recording years into one collection. Rather than documenting a new concert or worship night, the album tells the story of a season through songs that had already become closely connected with Terry's ministry around the world.
You Deserve the Glory opens the collection with one of the most recognized moments from the World Prayer Center recordings. I Came to Worship You follows with the simple declaration that became the center of another album. Captivate My Heart, Holy Are You Lord and We Glorify the Lamb bring together prayer, holiness and adoration. You're My Glory and How Long add the personal language of dependence and hunger, while I Surrender All, Lord moves into complete surrender. How We Need the River and O the Glory bring the collection to a close in the same atmosphere that runs through the entire project: longing for God's presence.
For listeners discovering Terry's music for the first time, The Glory of His Presence became a natural doorway into the earlier albums. It brings together the songs without losing the spiritual flow that made the original recordings distinctive. This is not simply a greatest-hits collection built around popularity. The songs were chosen because together they reveal the heart of the worship ministry: exalt Jesus, welcome the Holy Spirit and make room for people to respond to God.
The title says it plainly. Across different recordings, different gatherings and different songs, one theme kept returning - the glory of His presence. This collection brings those moments together in one journey of worship.
