Songs move us. My youngest brother Bryson proved it. When he was about a year old or less, we discovered that if we sang certain songs he would pucker up. I used to line up my buddies and I would sing a couple of lines and say, “Watch this.” Songs move us.
Songs go deeper than thought. They touch the heart. History reveals it. We know it’s true. That’s why the earliest military endeavors included songs and music as a part of war. They learned that when spirits were low and the outlook was bleak, a couple of drums and a flute could lift the spirits. Hope could be restored. It’s why virtually every nation and kingdom has a national anthem. It inspires pride and hope. Who hasn’t at some point in their life, gotten a lump in their throat when the flag passed by and they sang the Star Spangled Banner? It’s why High Schools have marching bands and smart marketing ads use music. Because songs move us.
But with Christians, it's even bigger than this. Songs as worship to God can actually change the atmosphere. A quick read of Acts 16 will prove it. Imagine Paul and Silas, beaten, bloody, chained up in a cell. And these cells didn't have A/C and a TV like ours today. They were dark, dank and gloomy places. But what did Paul and Silas decide to do at midnight? Sing and glorify God. I can imagine Paul saying to Silas, "Okay, Silas. We've prayed. We've prayed some more. We've talked and witnessed to these guards. What now? How about singing?" So they do and God hears their singing and the walls begin to shake and the chains fall off and soon revival breaks out! The head guard and his family are baptized. And so the church at Philippi grew as Jesus used a couple of guys singing praise in a jail cell! No, it's not magic and not everyone who is in a crisis can sing their way out. But before you say, "God doesn't do that anymore" don't discount it either. Praise still paves the way for God's supernatural intervention.
Are you in a prison of doubt? of discouragement? of temptation? of hopelessness? Ramp up the praise. Perhaps God will use that as an opportunity to break in and loose the chains on your soul.
