Worship has been an important part of my life since I was very young. My first opportunity on a worship team was in sixth grade. Throughout high school and beyond, I had many opportunities to sing, play various instruments, and even lead worship on occasion. However, I didn’t recognize worship as a significant part of my life and ministry until April.
As I’ve grown in playing and leading, God continues to stir in my heart regarding what the time of singing in worship really is. (“Worship” is a lifestyle of adoration – but I want to look specifically at the time we spend singing and adoring Him.) One of the things that I’ve been learning lately is that our worship shouldn’t just be confined to pre-written songs, but, just like our prayers, should come out of a spontaneous outflow of our hearts.
David talked about this as well:
“Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.” Ps 33:3
“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.” Ps 40:3
“Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.” Ps 96:1
“Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.” Ps 98:1
“I will sing a new song to you, O God; on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you.” Ps 144:9
“Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.” Ps 149:1
(Both the Hebrew word for “new” and the Greek word used in the same way in the NT imply “fresh, unused, novel, a new thing.”)
Perhaps for each of us, “singing to the Lord a new song” will look very different. But I want to encourage you: Don’t limit yourself to the pre-written songs of “professionals.” Let the pre-written songs stir your heart and inspire your own songs. Sing from your heart to Him, just like you pray from your heart to Him.
Last week as I in a discipleship meeting with a couple of young people, I noticed that towards the end, one of them was writing words on the bottom of his page. When he finished, I recognized it was a song. I asked him when he wrote it and he said, “Just now.” As we’ve grown in our understanding of worship, it’s exciting to see how God brings forth “new songs.” We recorded the song over the weekend. Click the title on the video to watch on Vimeo and see the description for the translation.
[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/52293724[/vimeo]