How I Enjoy Singing to the Lord
Originally posted on the Bibles for America Blog.
A BfA staff member shares his experience of singing to the Lord.
In my everyday Christian life I really enjoy praying to the Lord, calling on His name, and speaking about Him to others. All these things give me a way to contact the Lord Jesus throughout my day and enjoy His presence. But one of my favorite ways to touch the Lord is by singing to Him with my spirit. The apostle Paul wrote about singing in 1 Corinthians 14:15:
“I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing also with the mind.”
I of course need to use my mind when singing to the Lord, but this verse shows that I can sing to the Lord with my spirit also. Since my spirit is my deepest part and the means for me to contact and worship Christ, exercising my spirit to sing really brings me into the enjoyment of the Lord.
Singing in the morning
I particularly enjoy singing to the Lord in the morning. Sometimes as I’m getting ready, a song pops into my head, and I start singing it to touch the Lord as I go about my routine. Recently, I’ve sung one song in particular quite often (hear the music at hymnal.net):
“Therefore with joy shall ye draw water
Out of the wells of salvation.
And in that day shall ye say,
Praise the Lord.Call upon His name,
Declare His doings among the people,
Make mention that His name is exalted.
Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion
For great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”
At first it seemed a little awkward to sing aloud like this, especially if other people could possibly hear me. But I’ve found it’s such a great way to contact the Lord that now I can’t stop!
Singing to the Lord in the morning is so enjoyable because it’s one of the six ways we can drink Christ as the living water revealed in Isaiah 12. By singing to the Lord in the mornings I “draw water with rejoicing from the springs of salvation” (v. 3)! And verse 5 says,
“Sing psalms to Jehovah, for He has done something majestic!”
For me, the mornings are a critical time to draw water from the wells of salvation. Whether I take a drink or not impacts how the rest of my day goes. I rarely jump out of bed the minute I wake up, and I’m usually groggy and spiritually dry first thing in the morning. Because I haven’t called on the Lord or prayed all night long, I need to contact Him in the morning to be spiritually revived for the day. The easiest way I’ve found to do this when I’m still struggling with just being awake is to open my mouth to sing to Him.
What Isaiah 12 talks about is really true. When I sing to the Lord at the very beginning of my day, I draw from the wells of salvation and take a good, refreshing drink of the living water. I’m revived and strengthened to live in my spirit throughout the rest of the day.
Singing and psalming to the Lord anytime, anywhere
While I love to sing to the Lord in the mornings, I’m so glad I can turn my heart to the Lord by singing to Him at any time. I’ve found that singing to the Lord during the day helps me maintain the flow of the divine life within. In various circumstances throughout the day, I might begin to feel dry, down, or empty. When that happens, though, I often just sing to the Lord to touch Him in a fresh way. I can testify that the Lord has been so real to me at those times.
One particular place I like to sing is in my car. Sometimes instead of turning on the radio, I take the time to sing some songs or hymns to the Lord. These are such sweet, personal times with the Lord, and every time I get refreshed and revived. Sometimes the Lord also leads me to call on Him or to pray. I might end up praying for someone I know, or I might confess something I sense the Lord is speaking to me about. Instead of wasting the time in my car, I’m enlivened when I take advantage of the privacy to turn my heart back to the Lord.
Try it and see
The psalmists knew firsthand how enjoyable it is to sing to the Lord, as we can see in Psalms 104:33:
“I will sing to Jehovah while I live; I will sing psalms to my God while I yet have being.”
If you haven’t experienced singing to the Lord this way, I hope you’ll give it a try! While it’s wonderful to sing psalms and hymns in groups with other believers, it’s also so personal, sweet, and refreshing to sing to the Lord with your spirit at other times during your day. Once you experience how sweet it is to touch the Lord by singing to Him, you’ll find yourself doing it more and more. May we all sing to Jehovah while we live, and sing psalms to Him while we still have breath!
For more on the benefits of singing to the Lord, you can read this post on 5 Marvelous Benefits of Singing to the Lord in Our Daily Life.
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