Chorus and 2nd verse

(Jesus Walks)
God show me the way because the devil's trying to break me down
(Jesus Walks with me)
The only thing that I pray is that my feet don't fail me now
(Jesus Walks)
And I don't think there is nothing I can do now to right my wrongs
(Jesus Walks with me)
I want to talk to God but I'm afraid cause we ain't spoke in so long

To the hustlas, killers, murderers, drug dealers even the strippers
(Jesus walks with them)
To the victims of Welfare for we living in hell here hell yeah
(Jesus walks with them)
Now hear ye hear ye want to see Thee more clearly
I know he hear me when my feet get weary
Cuz we're the almost nearly extinct
We rappers is role models we rap we don't think
I ain't here to argue about his facial features
Or here to convert atheists into believers
I'm just trying to say the way school need teachers
The way Kathie Lee needed Regis that's the way yall need Jesus
So here go my single, dog, radio needs this
They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus
That means guns, sex, lies, video tapes
But if I talk about God my record won't get played Huh?
Well if this take away from my spins
Which will probably take away from my ends
Then I hope this take away from my sins
And bring the day that I'm dreaming about
Next time I'm in the club everybody screaming out
(Jesus Walks)

The chorus says a lot. There are constantly things in some people's lives that threaten to distract them from other things they need to focus on. Or maybe they're running to save their lives. There are people that are so far gone that no good works can reverse the damage they've done to themselves or others. A lot of people in bad situations are desperate and want to cry out to God, but don't think they can anymore.

The 2nd verse makes it even more obvious that Kanye West wrote the song for people on the fringes of what's considered acceptable by society. The song is a reminder that, no matter what the circumstances, no one loses their humanity. Jesus sees everyone as people and wants to help them.

Then Kanye West brings the words closer to his own experiences. Everyone could use Jesus' help. And Jesus doesn't turn down anyone who asks it. It's something Kanye thinks our culture needs to hear. He believes that it's considered acceptable to talk about almost anything in entertainment and the popular arts except what may be most important.

But Kanye's drawing the line and saying that, despite costing him some airplay, he wants to get this message out. And, hopefully, despite being somewhat subversive, it will catch on to the point where everyone will love the song and associate the message with him.