Singing in my heart

I was feeling a bit glum and grumpy yesterday when I read these words in the apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians:

"Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord."

This verse is part of a wonderful section in Ephesians 5:19-20 which is all about thanksgiving and joy - a foretaste of heaven.

Me? Sing?  I'm a monotone.  Family members can't help but smile when I sing - and I sing robustly.

But, in my heart I can sing like an opera singer.  One of my favourite pieces of music is the "Hallelujah Chorus" in Handel's choral masterpiece "The Messiah".  Sometimes, I feel the music swelling up within and I imagine the hallelujahs pouring out of me in song.

There is a great picture of heavenly worship in Revelation 5:11-13 where the apostle John sees in his vision "ten thousand times ten thousand" angels surrounding God in heaven and singing praises to Jesus.  As they sing, all the creatures in creation join in.

Imagine that.  What a chorus!

There is something about song that ushers us into the presence of God.  I noticed that again last Sunday evening when we were praying in our church for the people we wanted to enter the kingdom of God.  Worship songs prepared us to seek God for our loved ones.

As I say, Paul's words that I read are part of a section about praising God.

We are to come before him in prayer, offering songs of joy and worship in our hearts.

Then, we are to give thanks to God for everything.  Always - not sometimes.

Of course, many will say that we can't give thanks for bad things that happen to us or our loved ones. 

Paul certainly believed we could because in 2 Corinthians 12, he says that he asked God to remove a "thorn" in his flesh but God refused, telling him that "his (God's) grace is made perfect in weakness".  Paul said he would boast in his weakness so that "Christ's power may rest on me".

Paul knew that God had a plan for his good and was working it out in his life, no matter what happened.

But even if we find ourselves unable to go as far as Paul, we can certainly praise God in tough circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).  We need simply remind ourselves about God's character, his love and mercy to us, and the good things he has given us.

Paul is telling me that I must make a habit of singing in my heart to God and thanking him.  I must do it always - particularly when I feel glum and grumpy.

There is no better antidote to glumness and grumpiness.

Worship and healing

Recently, a visitor with severe heart problems came to our church prayer room to offer thanks to God.

To outsiders, it didn't make sense.  Her family was deeply concerned about the health issues she had - and yet she wanted to praise God.

What triggered her decision was a sermon by our pastor about thankfulness in the midst of trial and turmoil.

It reminds me of the importance of praise and thankfulness to God - no matter what.  We are commanded in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to be thankful in all circumstances.

Our visitor left the prayer room unchanged physically, but I believe she was emotionally helped.

Sometimes, God even brings physical healing and deliverance from evil spirits  as we worship him.  This is not the reason for praise and thankfulness, but a special blessing of the Lord.

Morris Cerullo, a well-known evangelist, says:

"We enter God’s presence (where there is healing) through worship and praise. Healing can come through worship and praise, even without a healing prayer, because God inhabits the praises of His people. When we praise, He is present to heal."

Terry Law, author of The Power of Praise and Worship, says that in the last decades of the 20th century, he traveled with his worship band all over the world and saw miracles of deliverance and healing as people worshiped God.

Missionary leader Wesley L. Duewel, author of Mighty Prevailing Prayer, tells of a time in India when he was asked to help those who were praying and fasting for the deliverance of a demon-possessed girl who was unconscious but thrashing on the ground. 

He felt helpless, but he felt impelled to bend down and speak words of praise to Jesus in her ear.  She responded by struggling to repeat the words, forcing them through her locked mouth.  As soon as she did, she was delivered.

Again, healing - emotional, physical or spiritual - is not the purpose of praising God.  He deserves our praise and worship even in the worst circumstances.

But, scriptural passages and believers' experiences through the ages suggest that, as we praise and worship God, we are changed and occasionally our circumstances change.  Our faith grows and God works in us, through us and around us.

Duewel says that praising God:

• Focuses our minds and hearts on God and cleanses us of fears;
• Increases faith;
• Invokes God's presence and power; and
• Terrifies, restrains and thwarts Satan.

Excellent reasons for worshiping God.

 

Yet, when all is said and done, I need only look at Jesus, contemplate his love for me, and consider what he has done for me, to bow in worship.

He is worthy of all praise.

Praying for the world

Last week, our prayer group was led by the Holy Spirit to pray about Christians in Iraq and Syria.

You might wonder what good is prayer for situations where we have no personal knowledge.  Isn't it hard enough to get answers to prayer for concrete personal issues?

I believe we don't pray enough for God's kingdom work in other parts of the world.  Our vision is too short.

Our prayers for Iraq and Syria last week sprang from our hearts as moved by the Spirit.  When we pray as the Spirit prompts, we can expect God to act.

A prayer leader in another church told me several years ago how members of his prayer group were seeking God one evening when the word "Tonga" came to someone's mind.  Another person felt there was a coup attempt and the king was threatened with assassination.

The group prayed about Tonga without knowing where Tonga was.  They found out later that a coup attempt on the Pacific island had been thwarted at the time they were praying.

In his book Spirit Rising, pastor and author Jim Cymbala says he was reading his newspaper one day when he came across an article about a mob attacking a Christian family in Gojra, Pakistan, killing seven of them just because of their faith. The mob went on to burn and loot Christian homes and stores in the area.

Cymbala was deeply moved by what he read and, as he prayed, he wept.  The Spirit was at work in Cymbala's heart.

At the church's huge Tuesday evening prayer meeting, Cymbala spoke about the Christians' plight in that Pakistani village and led the congregation in prayer.  The amazing thing was that a woman was present from Pakistan whose Pakistani pastor husband was bringing aid to the Christians in that village that very evening.

It was her first time visiting Cymbala's church in Brooklyn, N.Y.  Her visit led the church to give thousands of dollars in aid to the suffering Christians in that village which was delivered through the woman's husband.

Months later, the Christian pastor in Gojra telephoned Cymbala's church to say that a mob was gathered around the Christians who had retreated to the roof of a house and he asked for prayer.  Cymbala and his church prayed that evening.

The Pakistani Christian pastor telephoned back later to say that a heavy downpour of rain saved the Christians.  The mob scattered as the rain pelted down.

Prayer rescued Israel many times in its history, going back as far as God hearing the cries of the Israelite slaves in Egypt and delivering them from their tormentors.

We should pray boldly when the Holy Spirit stirs our hearts for our nation or people a world away.

Dynamic prayer

We’re human – we want our wishes fulfilled.

But should that be the main focus when we pray together?

No, says Dennis Fuqua, author of United and Ignited.

From long experience leading group prayer, he finds that prayer that centres on Jesus is far more dynamic than going through our list of personal prayer requests.  

And with good reason – we are turning our eyes from our own worries and concerns to the great God of the Universe.  As we draw closer to God, our faith and trust in him grows.

Fuqua doesn’t reject personal requests.  But he places worship of God first.

He often uses scripture as a jumping-off point for times of uplifting group prayer.  He quotes great Christian leaders over the centuries who say that all scripture should lead us to Christ.

One technique he has used is to list the titles of Jesus or God.

I have found that effective, too – referring to the names of God in the Old Testament, such as, God our redeemer, God our peace, God almighty.  These names are used by the Holy Spirit to prompt and direct our prayers.

For example, the title “Jehovah-Jireh” – God our provider – can lead to prayers of thanks about God’s provision in our own circumstances.

On one occasion, Fuqua used a song “All of you is more than enough for me” to encourage people in the prayer meeting to complete the phrase “Jesus, you are my . . .” People began saying “Jesus, you are my light”, “Jesus, you are my rock”, “Jesus, you are my conqueror.”

Then, he urged them to make this even more personal.  And people began saying things such as “Jesus, because you are my justification, I don’t have to justify myself.”

He notes that the Lord’s Prayer – the model prayer that Jesus himself gave to his disciples – begins with requests that God’s name be holy, that his kingdom come, and that his will be done.

“Jesus made it very clear that before we pray about our needs, we should first consider his desires,” Fuqua says.

In effect, “we should be aware that his kingdom has priority over our needs”.

Once we begin thinking and praying this way, we will realize that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves – spreading the kingdom of God on earth.

That’s exciting!