SINGING FOR OUR LORD
SINGING FOR OUR LORD
Every time we come together to worship our Lord, we sing hymns and spiritual songs. It’s an important part of our worship.
But why? In Ephesians 5:19, we are commanded to “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” Psalm 40:3 is a good example of what singing can do for us, but more importantly, Ephesians 5:19 demonstrates what it can do for the Lord.
Despite this, however, we often find ourselves not paying attention to what we are singing. Minds drift oft to worldly woes, and people sing on autopilot. Our words ought to be a continual sacrifice to God (Hebrews 13:15). If we are not focused, then are we truly worshipping? When we sing, we should be contemplating the verses we speak. When we sing It Is Well With My Soul do we truly think on the state of our soul?
When we sing songs like Sing To Me of Heaven, do we truly demonstrate a desire to be with our God? To sing without focus is to offer up empty words. If we do not truly take the effort to mean what we sing, then our singing is vain. Psalms like 98:1 express joy and marveling inspired by our Lord, and when we sing songs like Sing and Be Happy we should also be filled with joy. God did not send His son to die for our sins to then receive vain and empty noise, but rather, the melody of our hearts.
Another matter that hinders our ability to sing the way God intended us to is that some deem themselves unable to sing well and thus don’t sing at all. God commanded all of us to sing, to make melody with our hearts. Did He command that only the best should sing or that those who do not feel like singing could sit it out? The Lord commanded that we all sing, for it is our devotion and love that are stirred up by this singing that is the melody of our hearts.
Though some of us may find our singing deficient, it is the content of our hearts and the contemplation of our minds that pleases the Lord. John 14:15 states that if we love the Lord, then we ought to keep his commandments. If we love the lord, then we will sing. If we love the Lord, then we will sing the way He wants us to.
~ Anthony Eaves