I wish I could sing special music by myself, but that isn’t one of my talents. I love to sing in groups. It’s uplifting and inspiring to sing hymns or other Christian songs. When I sing with others, I feel close to God. The Lord encourages us to sing, “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise” (Psalm 95:1-2 ESV)!
God created us to sing — it’s a beautiful way to worship God — when we draw near to Him in singing, He draws close to us (James 4:8). We are inspired to sing even when evil tries to prevail against us. When two followers of Jesus were inadvertently put in prison they sang, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25 ESV). The next day, Paul and Silas were released — more importantly, the keeper of the prison and his family had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.1
Do you like to sing? By yourself or in big groups? When you sing, do you feel drawn closer to the person you’re singing about?
I love to sing! I believe that singing helps us get to know Jesus as our Best Friend. Here are some Bible promises about singing:
- “But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress” (Psalm 59:16 ESV).
- “Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord” (Psalm 150:1-2, 6 NIV).
- “Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song. Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful” (Psalm 149:1 NLT).
A few years ago, I sang a favorite Bible text of mine that I had memorized, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6 BSB emphasis added). By singing, “all” stood out big time! It was amazing to see this happen by singing these verses instead of just reciting them from memory.
It was a timely revelation of God’s Word at a time when I needed to hear it. I hadn’t been giving my whole heart to God and I hadn't always been acknowledging Him. God is so, so good! I’m thankful for a kind, loving and merciful God — and the gentle reminder from His Word, to give “all” my heart to Him.
What about you? Have you given yourself completely to Jesus? Are you willing to give all of your heart to Him?
Call to Action
Jesus loves us. A lot! He loves us more than we can imagine. He even loves to sing with a loud voice (Zephaniah 3:17 ESV).
Jesus knocks on our hearts (Revelation 3:20) and wants to fill us with His love. He wants to remove selfishness (opposite of love) and impart selflessness into us — Jesus wants to clean us from loving ourselves to loving others. Jesus wants us to surrender ourselves, completely, 100% to Him. Jesus wants us to follow His example.
Will you follow Jesus’ example? Will you surrender yourself completely to Him each day?
Will you claim the following Bible promise, with me and surrender self daily to the One who wants to fill us completely with His love?
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Galatians 2:20 NKJV
Here are three of my favorite songs that I love to sing:
1. My Redeemer is Faithful and True by Steven Curtis Chapman
2. Gift to You by Kids Worship Songs Children Ministry
3. No More Night by Fountain View Academy
Unless noted otherwise, scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
- See Acts 16:31-39.
