Praying, First String

I have to say, I was completely encouraged today when I read through Pastor Pete Wilson’s blogpost, I Stink At Prayer (http://withoutwax.tv/2008/04/07/i-stink-at-prayer/). “Encouraged” because, that’s me, man. I mean, if there’s public praying to be done, I promise you, I am not your guy. Not that I can’t or that I dislike it or get stage fright or something. But there’s something about my public prayers that’s just…well…disjointed, is probably a good word.

There are certain people I’ve encountered throughout my life who are awesome prayers. I mean seriously, they say just the right thing, in just the right way. The content is perfect. The length is perfect. And the language they use is that perfect balance between approachability and poetic. You know what I mean. Our pastor at Corner-Stone Church, Pastor Darrel Rewis, is one of those people. Just a natural gift for it, it seems.

That, however, is not me. I have wished to be a prayer like that, but it just doesn’t fall naturally to me.

One of the great praying pastors who specifically stands out for me is Bro. Curtis Hammond, who (now retired) mentored me many moons ago as a young man of God, and led the Freedom Church of God flock for many, many years. I’ve had other people at Freedom say to me “Now that man can really pray”. And yes he could…Brother Hammond could for sure, flat out pray. When he prayed, I could just imagine God saying to the angels “Now boys, that’s how it’s done.”

So what’s a guy to do? I mean, if you’re going to be a Christian, you kindof have to pray. And if you’re just not that fluid at it in public (like me), well then that might really be a sore spot for you. So I started asking myself some basic questions. Maybe you’re asking yourself some of the same questions: 

·       What is a “good prayer”?

·       What is my goal, when I pray?

·       Can someone learn to pray? Isn’t that fake?

Frankly, I think I could write a book on this. But to scratch the surface, these were the (beginning) answers that made sense to me. See if they speak to you too.

What is a “good prayer”? Well there are lots of possible descriptions, but I think it all comes down to one word. “Love”. When we pray beyond ourselves (not that we can’t pray for our own issues), we tap into one of the real essential driving forces, of Jesus. Selfless compassion for those around us.

What is my goal, when I pray? This ties back to question number 1, but also…when I ask this, I also have to ask “How often do I ask God for something when I pray?” I believe God honors the requests that we bring before Him, but am I also compelled to just ramble on about His goodness, sometimes? We use God as our own little genie in a bottle so often, that we don’t even think about it, until we stop and look. Maybe I need to realign my focus for some of my prayers.

Can someone learn to pray? Isn’t that fake? This is touchy. The answer to the first part is an obvious “yes”. Jesus said in Matthew 6:9-13, “This is how you pray.” So yes, God is cool with us breaking it down into learnable chunks. Jesus actually encourages us to do what He does!

Is that fake? Well, it depends. Kind of back to “What is your goal?” I think we should ask ourselves “Why do I want to be a better public prayer?” Is it to impress the deacons? Is it to practice our public speaking skills? Is it to have a platform to express our thoughts? Is it to reach out to the lost, more effectively? Is it to skillfully praise our Creator?

In a nutshell, I look at it like, I want to learn how to publicly pray in a way that both, honors God AND speaks to the body in a relevant manner. And I think a conscious effort to improve my public delivery is perfectly acceptable, even desirable, to God.

After that, everything else should just take care of itself.

More on this subject to come later…I like this. :) I need a lot of work in this area, and I believe there is much for us to learn. Til then…!

FIC…Ricky

Knowing the Difference Between Yes and No

My youngest son, Jude, is a year old. And he is crawling…crawling like a mad man. And let me tell you, he is fast. Quick. Like a cat. And when he gets a certain toy or book or remote in his sights, he is relentless. When he gets that burning desire for the glass of cherry Kool-aid sitting on the end table, then I become mute and invisible. He just doesn’t seem to know the difference at that point, between yes and no.

He’ll be wide open and I’m yelling “No!”, and I can say “no” a dozen times, but when his mind is fixed on something, he just doesn’t want to hear me anymore.

I believe that’s how it is with us and God, more times that not. He’s saying “no” and we’re determined to do it anyway. Sometimes we need to learn the simple difference between yes and no.

Most of you know that I’m still finding my feet, helping out with Sunday morning worship services at our church, Corner-stone Baptist Church, here in Jefferson (GA). Part of that learning process involves song selection.

If you’ve watched ten minutes of American Idol, then you’ve heard someone talk about the importance of “song choice”. And that is true, both on American Idol and as it relates to worshipping our God and King.

But how do you decide? I mean, I’ve been performing for years…I know how to pick a song or a set of songs. But how much of it should be me and how much of it should be determined by the Holy Spirit?

As I ask that question, I can’t help but remember one of my favorite (and my least often applied) passages of scripture:

“…for He must increase and I must decrease.” – John 3:30

To me, that is one of the most profound pieces of theology in the Bible. It sums up the whole concept of God and Jesus and salvation…the simple but massive idea that between God and me, we take up a finite amount of “space”, for lack of a better description. And the bigger my pride, my ego, my head gets, then the less room that leaves for God.

If God is to increase in grace and mercy and love and wisdom and power and authority (as they all relate to my life), then the only choice is for me to give Him some elbow room. I must make myself smaller. I must decrease. I must fade from view until absolutely nothing is left for the world to see, but Him.

And as one of the people who selects the songs our congregation will worship with on Sundays, I face the awesome responsibility of making that very un-natural decision to withdraw.

It’s human nature to step out. To step up. To raise our hand and say “me!” We like to be noticed. We like to be recognized. We feed off of the compliments of others. We love surveying our handiwork.

It isn’t the nature of a man (or a woman) to defer the credit to anyone else.

But for Christ to be glorified, He must increase and I must decrease.

So what does that say to me about worship song selections?

It says that number one, just because a song is a “hit” or sounds good or makes us want to dance or jump or shout…that doesn’t mean it’s automatically a great worship song.

I’ve said before that as human beings, we’re very emotional. And God of course, knows that. And even though God has a use for our emotions, He tells us to depend on the Holy Spirit to lead us into truth:

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth…” (John 16:13)

I wonder if that applies to song choices too? (ahem, the answer is “yes”.)

Number two, it tells me that my criteria for worship song selection is no longer “familiarity, singability and emotionally stirring-ness”. The heart of the worshipper is what plays the key role here, not the song they sing.

Not to say the song is completely unimportant, but as redeemed children of the most high God, we should be able to choose to worship, not have to depend on a particular chord progression or singer’s voice to get us there.

So instead, my criteria are now “scriptural soundness, spiritually uplifting and openly expressing the glorification of God, Jesus and/or His Holy Spirit.”

And lastly, number three, in spite of all the abilities (or lack thereof) God has given me musically, I truly believe that He yearns for me to lean fully and completely on Him and seek His guidance and His revelation and His voice for the selection of music for our worship service.

My gifts, whatever they may be, are only a stale, scientific mixture of DNA and environmental influences, when used alone. But when coupled with the Holy Spirit, they become powerful and useful tools for God.

Does that guidance, revelation and voice come only in the form of goosebumps and dreams? No. It may come in the form of a suggestion from the congregation. Or a conversation with the pastor that “coincidentally” turns to a certain song. Or maybe a passage from a book I read, or a verse of scripture that keeps popping up, or a line I hear in a movie that won’t let me go.

Maybe it’s something my son says to me when we’re doing baths.

Who knows how God may choose to lead me. But it’s my responsibility to seek Him and be prepared to receive His choices when they come, to apply them according to His will and know when He’s gently telling me “no”.

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Prayer: Father, please help me to seek You and to depend on You, completely, in all my decisions, no matter how big or small they may seem. I know that You are the way, the truth and the life…I know that You will never desert me…and I know that I can count on You when my path is unsure to me. Please lead me in the way You would have me go, not only in choosing music for corporate worship, but in every area of my life. Amen.

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Take-away: Ask yourself “What is my favorite worship song?” Then ask why. Is it scripturally sound? Dissect it and see. Is it spiritually uplifting and not simply emotionally charging? And does it unquestionably glorify God, in no uncertain terms, no hazy statements, no “understood” ideas within the lyrics? Is it openly a song of worship? And if your song doesn’t pass these areas, maybe the Holy Spirit is telling you “no”…be faithful and willing to ask Him to lead you in looking for a new song to sing!

When Is Worship Not Really Worship?

I recently joined an online Christian community of worship leaders and musicians called Worship the Rock. Very cool place.

Among other things, WTR also has a forum where questions and issues get posted and discussed. Mostly, I stay out of it. But the other day, I saw the following comment about worship in our congregations:

Have you found that the more we polish the worship team, the worship trend becomes more performance minded rather than worship? I have watched worship leaders parade across the platform interacting with the congregation and members of the team as if it is a performance at a concert or a show. I am finding myself hunting for the true worship in this. What ever happened to the simple, meaningful, heartfelt worship…How do we get back to the true heart of worship?

As you’ve probably guessed, I just had to reply to this one. And my reply seemed like a good piece for today’s devotion.

Here’s what I had to say:

I feel you, Bill. I struggle with the same thing.

As a musician and songwriter, and also as a worship leader in our church, I struggle with the issue of "entertainment", not only in our P&W service, but in Christian music in general.

Is being entertained wrong? Probably not.

Is it a waste of God's time? Again, probably not, but not exactly the most pressing of His desires for us, I would guess.

It's cool to be entertained. And excited. And emotional. And all that. God created us as emotional beings, and our emotions (very much so, through music), help pave the pathway to communion with Him. There's nothing wrong with a good song.

Remember though, we don’t NEED our emotions to commune with God. Just like we don’t NEED a diving board to dive into the pool. The diving board is a vehicle that helps facilitate the process. God doesn’t need us to need a diving board to dive into Him.

We just jump because we choose to.

But it does help us overcome a lot of our human shortcomings, and circumvent a lot of the self-imposed barriers that we have when it comes to entering into His presence…so to speak.

At the end of the day, I think we have to determine where we (and God) draw the line between "ushering in" the presence of God and simply rockin' out.

In my opinion, I'm not a huge fan of the current worship climate. I love the fact that people are openly and excitably worshiping the Lord, I dig the crowds, I’m all about the guitars and drum solos and amazing harmonies.

But when it takes a top ten worship tune to wake the congregation up, while a simple rendition of “I Surrender All”, puts them to sleep...something's wrong.

When we base our ability and willingness to worship and honor our Holy and deserving God and King, upon the popular acceptance and statistical success of a certain song...when we ignore the truth and simplicity of the lyrics and gravitate only to clever twists of a phrase...when we say we can’t “get into” worshipping because a particular song isn’t “working”…something is very wrong.

Since when do we NEED a song to worship God?

Did you NEED to get a present, in order to thank your parents? While most of us would PREFER it that way, that answer is still “no”. Neither do you need a gift or a word or a miracle or a certain style of song, to worship God.

Maybe you’ll say “But some songs are just anointed by God.” And I agree.

But don’t you realize, the anointing isn’t some coat of paint that God applies here and there, that we have no part in at all? The anointing, is upon you. Upon us. Upon God’s people. Through the sacrifice and redemptive power of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we don’t need an anointed song in order to worship our Father…any more than we need a certain brand of shoe or shirt before we can get dressed.

I don't want to squash the freedom of P&W in our churches. But we MUST NOT compromise the holiness of God, for the pleasure of the moment. We can (and should) passionately worship God, with or without our Praise Teams.

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Prayer: Father, please help me to remember that my worship is most pleasing to you when it comes from a heart of gratitude and love, not through the artificial stimulation of something outside of You. Outside of me. I will promise You to not let my worship be controlled by my circumstances, my surrounding or my worldly influences. But I will praise You, regardless, no matter what may happen around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.


Scripture: Psalm 34:1 - I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.


Think About It: The Lord our God not only desires our heartfelt praise, but requires it. Would God require something of you and then not provide a means for that thing to happen? So if our best praises requires the company of a great and anointed song, are we to disobey God when the music stops?

Increasing My Surface Area

I love the Lord and I love to sing. And I love to hear other people singing. So leading worship at our church gives me the best of all worlds.

God has been very gracious to me and has blessed me with so many opportunities to share with others. And in leading P&W, I not only get to worship Him in a way that is effective and expressive to me, but I get to light a potential path for my brothers and sisters to do the same.

It’s a sweet deal.

But being a worship leader carries with it a host of assumptions and expectations, many of which, just aren’t my thing. I am who God made me and not someone else. And it’s important for each of us to find his or her own “voice” when it comes to our praise. Even though I may lead in worship, I still have my own, personal praise that I seek too, and finding and knowing my own voice of praise is a crucial element in my spiritual journey.

So how do you find your voice?

Well for me, it’s through a combination of scriptural study, prayerful searching and, to an extent, being around or watching the people whom I respect and admire. As for the latter…

There are and have been remarkable worship leaders. I mean, just dynamic. The first person that comes to my mind, and one of my biggest musical influences, is Lyndell Cooley. When the Brownsville Revival was building into a global phenomenon, Lyndell was at the heart of the music pouring out of that place and his direction literally changed the way most of us looked at “church songs”. He was (and continues to be) a naturally gifted leader, vocalist and songwriter and a generation of P&W leaders owe their positions, in no small part, to Lyndell and his ability to find his own voice.

And then today, we’ve got an amazing group of newer worship leaders in our midst. People like Paul Baloche, The David Crowder Band, Hillsong, Chris Tomlin, Laura Story, Matt Papa, Aaron Shust, Vicky Beeching, Matt Maher…I really could go on and on and on. Not only are these people anointed ministers and incredibly talented musicians and songwriters, but they are animated and charismatic and downright infectious with their passion for worship.

Then, there’s me.

Although I’ve been influenced by so many of these musicians and artists in the church, none of these people are exactly me. But they’ve all had a hand in helping me find who I am. My voice.

Where do I fit into the current landscape as a P&W leader? I’m not sure. I play. I sing. I write some. I’m not shy, but I’m not “bouncy” either, if you know what I mean. I tend to stand fairly still when I sing. I generally close my eyes. And I rarely pay attention to anything going on in the congregation or on the stage area. I’m typically lost in my own world.

I just worship and lose myself and do my thing, and hopefully God has an avenue for that type of worship, with His people.

I’ve said it before, I love the “Spirit-filled” congregation. I love to be in the middle of it and see God’s personality revealed in His children. But I, myself, am not a shouter. Or a runner. I’m not a dancer, a twirler, a stutterer, a stomper, a spinner or a jumper. I don’t leap the pews. I don’t wave my arms. I don’t shake my head or make siren noises. Although those things are all cool, and I love to observe them (if they’re all done orderly and in-sync with God’s design), they just aren’t part of my personal make-up.

There are two ways the Holy Spirit seems to manifest Himself in me. Weeping and hand raising.

Why do I weep? I have no idea. But at times, I’m suddenly overcome with emotion and it just causes me to quietly cry as I sing or pray. Some would say it’s just an emotional response to something. Some might argue that I’m reacting to external stimulae like stress or nervousness or vitamin deficiency. Some doctors might diagnose me as bipolar or manic depressive. But I don’t need therapy or a doctor or a vacation or a pill…I believe it’s part of God’s expression, in and through me. All perfectly normal.

Having said that, my other thing is raising my hands.

Not too intrusive. Not loud. Not attention-getting. But just semi-privately lifting my hand or hands as I praise Him feels good to me.

Why? I mean “Why do I do it?”

I look at it as expanding my surface area.

Since turning about 30, I’ve been expanding my surface area quite regularly (aka the middle aged spread). But what I’m talking about here is an opening up of myself, spiritually and emotionally…and yes, physically too.

If you had two sail boats and one had a small sail and the other had a large sail, which one would catch the most wind? The larger one, of course. The sail with the greater surface area has the best chance of coming in the most contact with the winds and thus, moving the boat.

So I look at raising my hands and arms and opening myself up in that way, as a type of enlarging my spiritual sail. Or moving my Jesus-boat. As I expand my spiritual surface area, the better chance God has of showering Himself on me.

I know, kind of weird. And not exactly theologically sound, but that’s the visual image I hold and that’s the idea that helps me to freely worship God and express myself.

You may try it (or something similar) and find it works for you too. Or you may need to pursue a completely different path. Regardless, pray for God to open a way for you to find your unique self in your praise and for Him to help you express yourself in a way that’s consistent with your own personality.

Today hand-raising. Tomorrow…who knows? I may do the robot at the altar.

OK…not the robot.

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Scripture - Psalm 63:4 - I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.


Take Away – There is no essentially right or wrong way to express yourself when praising God. But relax and know that God created you and made you who you are, even apart from your praise activities (or lack thereof). So rest in Him and trust that He will create in you, an expression of praise that is in harmony with your own personality.


Prayer - Father, You have placed within me, a desire to praise You. So please help me to find my true self, so I can express my love and gratitude and honor for You in the best way possible, whatever that involves. Starting today, I will no longer limit myself to ideas and activities that may cause me to praise You in any way that is not full and truthful and free, and overflowing with all my passion and intensity and desire to please You. In Jesus Name, Amen