Make Time for a Song
I don’t know about you, but lately, the days are getting busier and busier. There is always so much to do, and so much that still needs to be done. In my day I’m busy nonstop from the time my feet hit the floor until I crash at the end of a late night. A whole week can fly by at the blink of an eye. This leaves me feeling drained and frazzled. But just when I feel like I can’t breathe, I take time to sing!
Sing? How can a song help me cope with the stresses of life? Well, when it’s a song for God, it helps to humble me and see that all of this “stuff” is just “stuff” and not worth letting it get to me. I have an amazing, glorious Father who loves me, and nothing is more important than Him and Jesus Christ, and being a part of the family of God forever.
Singing to God: It’s Not Just for Sabbath
I’m sure most of us sing hymns to God on the Sabbath, but that can be robotic if we are not careful. God our Father would love to hear us sing to Him daily, with heartfelt praise. Do you think you can’t sing? Everyone can sing! God made you; He gave you a voice so you could sing and praise him. He makes no mistakes; your voice is perfect, just the way He made it to be. Does a parent of a little child tell the child “only sing to me if it’s perfect”? Of course not! Parents love hearing those sweet little voices sing. So does our Father. Singing to God daily and not only just on the Sabbath will add so much to your prayer and Bible study time. It will deepen your relationship with your Father. You are singing to Him because you want to. Imagine how pleasing to God that is.
A Song in Your Heart
There is a song in your heart and I believe God put it there. He gave us the gift of music. It’s there for us to praise Him. We get busy and in a rush, and we forget to slow down and sing. We forget to share our gift, the gift He gave us, with Him. If you take the time each day to offer a song of praise to your Father, it helps bring a peace and calm into your life. It connects you with the Father. It helps make your prayer and bible study time more personal in my opinion.
Where to Start
If it feels strange to you to sing outside of church service, maybe you need a little inspiration.
Our family loves to go outside in God’s creation and sing. Take your hymnal outside and sing. This past Feast we were blessed to be by the ocean, and we enjoyed singing by the water. I am usually brought to tears when I sing outside. I feel so connected to God when I sing in the presence of His creation.
We can be inspired when we read over Psalms.
There are so many beautiful verses about singing to God and offering Him thanks and praise. Here are a couple of my favorites.
“Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and praise is becoming” (Psalm 147:1).
“Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations” (Psalm 57:8-9).
Now there are several Bible-based, contemporary Christian songs that honor and glorify our Father. Our family loves finding good ones to sing along to, especially on Friday nights. We encourage the littles ones to get out their instruments and play and sing along. It brings such joy to our family.
A Daily Offering
I would suggest that singing to God should be a daily offering. Like prayer and Bible study, it should come from your heart. God doesn't want a robotic offering that you do just because it’s procedure. He wants your sincere love and praise. So when the stress of this life begins to bring you down, don’t forget to make time for a song.