Praying through Song

One of the things that I love doing when preparing for worship is picking the hymns. Music is an important part of my life and faith and so I know how important music is as we worship our triune God. Music can also help us as we pray. Both the words of beloved hymns and the tunes can lift us up as we pray to God. William P. Merrill said that “there is nothing in the world so much like prayer as music is.” And I agree with him 100%!

If you think about your favorite hymns, you will find many direct and indirect references to prayer. These indirect references can be found when we think about the P.R.A.Y. acronym (praise, repent, another, yourself). When we sing a song of praise at the beginning of the service, it is a prayer of thanksgiving for all that God has done for us. When we sing a song of discipleship at the end of the service, it is a prayer both for ourselves and for others.

The final part in my sermon series on prayer will be tomorrow and we will be talking about the acronym P.U.S.H.  – pray until something happens. Even though we do not know God’s plan for our lives and our world, Jesus encourages us to pray continuously and not to give up hope. The closing hymn that we will be singing tomorrow is a prayer of praise because of the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. It is one of my favorite hymns and it is called “My hope is built on nothing less.”  Here are the words for this song:

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.

Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide his face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil. [Refrain]

His oath, his covenant, his blood
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay. [Refrain]

When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found,
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne. [Refrain]

Yours in Christ, Emma.

P.S. Here’s a link to the song on YouTube. (We’re singing a different tune tomorrow…)