There are 3 things great praise and worship music played live can teach us beyond simple enjoyment - a joyful noise, personal preparation, and intentional quiet time...
I had bought into the lies that Hollywood produces. I believed it would be a tool in my tool belt of attracting the attention of the girls I wanted to be with.
Of course, God's sovereignty clearly reigns, because I am now married to a woman who could take or leave my guitar-playing skills.
Even in that, though, I stand grateful for the humbling clarity He provides me to see His true purposes for my choices that lead to much greater works for His kingdom.
In the privilege and responsibility I now have to play and lead amazing live praise and worship music, I have found three awesome principles that apply to ALL of our spiritual lives...
#1: A Joyful Noise
First, live worship music is powerful in the joyful noise it creates to praise our God.
Have you ever been surprised by the actual power of music to stir your soul? Personally, I cannot even fully explain how or why the harmony of music moves me the way it does. Sometimes, I cannot explain the feelings it creates in me.
I cannot help but wonder if music is just a glimpse of another dimension of "experience" we have yet to fully know until the afterlife.
Regardless, it is obvious that playing or listening to live worship music on Sunday summons this other dimension of emotion into praiseful worship of our God. Perhaps this is why the largest book in the Bible is it's book of songs - Psalms (150 chapters!).
Have you ever considered the history of music before the printing press or recording devices? It was all "live" music before that and somehow hymns and melodies flourished and persevered for centuries.
The power of live music is undeniable.
#2: Personal Preparation
Second, live worship music demands individual, personal preparation in order to deliver excellent corporate praise to God.
I realized recently that worshiping by playing live music on Sundays delivers its best ONLY when we as individual musicians have prepared well.
Beyond the practice time it takes for each musician to learn his or her part of a song, there is an even finer element of preparation that when included, produces a higher level of excellence in the joyful noise it creates.
Recently, as I was playing a soaring, ethereal-sounding guitar solo on top of a solid piano, drum, bass guitar, and acoustic guitar foundation, I had a snapshot appear in my mind. This picture was of me, alone in my office with my headphones on. There were wires all around me and two computer screens. I had my guitar on my lap and my guitar effects pedal-board on the floor by my feet. I was in a cycle of adjusting the settings, playing a riff on the guitar, listening, and then doing it all over again. This picture was in high contrast to where I stood at the moment - on a platform facing a congregation of a couple hundred people.
It hit me that this is exactly what our spiritual lives are like. Specifically, in order to deliver our best spiritual fruit externally, we have to put in the work internally.
Our work to prepare ourselves and advance our own spiritual walks with Christ is what qualifies us to go externally to deliver excellence in His name and for His kingdom. When we work on ourselves to grow in Christ, we prepare ourselves to deliver radically well for others.
#3: Excellence In Being Quiet
The third principle amazing live worship music can teach us about our spiritual lives is my favorite.
This principle is certainly not as obvious as the first two, but perhaps the most important of all for developing spiritually.
Most of us know that learning how to play an instrument well emphasizes making the notes and chords sound good. But in my recent awareness, I realized that it was actually what my fingers and hands did so well to QUIET my guitar that really stood out.
Let me explain. While strumming chords, a light strum across the strings will result in much more pleasant harmony in the ears than aggressive strumming that can leave strings rattling and buzzing against the wooden neck of the guitar. Additionally, during a guitar solo, quieting the other 5 strings is essential to having the melody of the solo stand out and avoid hearing notes that are out of key.
When done well, these aspects of quieting the instrument deliver much higher levels of excellence in the music it delivers.
And this is a subtle but powerful analogy for our own spiritual walks...
In order to take our own spiritual growth to another level, we can apply this same concept in our prayer lives. Specifically, finding the time to be QUIET and listen to God is absolutely critical. Quite honestly, I know that I do not set enough of this kind of time with God aside. My noisy chatter with God tends to be rushed and sound very one-sided as I monologue in front of Him.
And there is no telling what I am missing... His wisdom He wants to share... His leading for my difficult decisions... His presence in every moment.
Conclusion
Our live worship music delivers powerful praise to God, but only when we have put in the personal preparation and taken the time to "listen" to Him lead us.
Whether traditional or Contemporary Christian music is part of your Sunday (and weekly) routine, I hope you will consider these three principles to advance your spiritual growth. I encourage you to discover the riches that come from adding more quiet time with God to your daily routine.
In the meantime, we would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave a comment on how worship music has fostered your Christian growth in the comments section below.
