Sing lustily, and with a good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Ouch, right? That stings a little bit. How many times have you caught yourself singing along to a song in your car or at home, and you notice that you seem to be blaring them out more than usual? Do you do that with praise to God, or just to popular songs you hear on the radio?
When you attend services on Sunday, do you muddle through the music because that’s what you’ve been shown or do you sing out and let your voice be heard? Let’s be careful on this point, because in no way am I saying that you should sing loudly so that others hear you and comment on how wonderful your voice sounds. What I am saying, and what I think John Wesley is saying here, is that you should sing like you would with (insert popular song here, “Friends In Low Places”, “Viva La Vida”, “Ice Ice Baby”, or whatever you listen to). Sing with the music as if you’re excited about the words, as if you’re thrilled to be singing to the Savior of the world!
To be fair, I’m a worship leader, and one who is still learning the craft. When I pick out songs for the week’s services I try to choose those that might fit the theme of the week’s message, have some relevance to events going on in the church, or something seasonal. We don’t typically do Easter songs at Christmas, or Christmas songs at Easter, though now that I think about it….
The music that we play may not be something that grabs hold of your heart that day. If that’s the case then maybe it was intended for someone else. I firmly believe that God sets a divine appointment for specific songs for specific people at a specific moment in their life. Regardless of whether those songs have been planned for months in advance (yes, it happens) or whether the set list was changed around that morning (that happens too), God has brought people into that place at that time for that song we are playing and singing. If we all sing it as if we are half-asleep, then does it have any meaning?
Do you mean the words you pray? Do you mean the words that are told to someone else to lift them up? How much then can we mean the words of a song? Do you pray earnestly, seeking God for something that you desire? Can you then sing earnestly, praising God for what He has done?
Boiled down, worship through music is something that exists between God and the person singing. Those of us on the worship team pray every Sunday that we disappear into the background while you are worshiping. I see us as nothing but facilitators, people who present music before God to help His people worship Him. Sing as if you are standing before Him in eternity. Sing as if you are the only one there. Put some heart into it!
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