All tagged song

The Song of God’s Presence

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Prayer Song

The title of my devotional reading today was "God's Presence Results in Singing" and this is a subject that seems to be obvious to us as believers. Whenever our spirits are in communion with His, there is song... it can present itself as an exhilaration beyond description, or if we are experiencing moments of desperate despair or tremendous sorrow we find a connection with Him that reveals itself in solemn songs and dirges. When in God’s presence songs well up from within us and bring with them the essence of our prayers. This is why some psalms in the Bible are joyous, while others can be thankful, solemn, desperate, filled with mourning, or pleading.

Prayer, Praise, Song

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Singing to God

This morning let’s delve into praising God and the presence of our praise in prayer. Pastor E.M. Bounds called this "Spiritual Singing". He even recognized people with little ability to sing when he said "Spiritual singing is not done by musical taste or talent, but by the grace of God in your heart." We are encouraged in scripture to address one another, and God, in song, but are we doing this? If not is it because we are judging one another’s ability to sing and thus discouraging another’s prayer life? Singing on a stage is one thing, but singing on our knees to the Lord is totally different and criticism there can be considered shaming someone who is seeking God’s presence.

Diversity, the Revelation Song, and Following Jesus

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Diversity in Faith

So often we think that there is but one way that men are called, and that God has a set process for leading us to Him. We somehow get in our minds that there is only one way to serve God, and that if we don’t fit into the biblical walk exhibited by one of the twelve apostles then we are not correct in our faith. In fact, we are all unique and so is our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Becoming Transformed by God’s Word, and Spiritual Song

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Feeling God’s Word

We read a psalm that we didn’t write, about a time that we didn’t live, and yet it becomes our own. The emotion, the faith, and the belief are suddenly ours, and the I becomes us, just as if we were saying it and writing it. David writes “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want”, and those words relieve our wants; the green pastures become ours to rest in, and the still waters are as smooth and crystal clear as if we are seeing them with our own eyes. Some might call this imagination, but the faithful call it the Holy Spirit. We read more than what David saw with his eyes, we are lead to feel the relationship he felt with the Lord. Do we feel it? Do we live that gift as we are immersed in each verse? Is the comfort of David ours as his words are transformed within us? Does the I, and the me, that he wrote become us?

Victory, our Joyous Song, and the final Wrath of God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Final Wrath of God

As I read Revelation today I came to the account of the seven angels who brought the final wrath of God on the world in the form of seven plagues, but this image was not all gloom and doom; with them came those who had conquered the beast along with its image and the number of its name. These conquerors were singing the song of Moses, and Jesus Christ, and I thought to myself that I wanted to be counted in that number. I want to be one of the victors who will sing with great joy, knowing that the final plagues are at hand. I want to be one who will lift his voice joyfully in the realization that the final victory is at hand. Mighty is our God, merciful and full of grace is He, yet perfect is His judgement upon the world. Do we long for this day?

By Singing, and Whistling, We are Lifted up in Holy Song

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Healing Songs

There are seasons when we find ourselves facing trials, or suffering in some way or another. Times like this are common as we walk through our earthly lives. Sometimes it seems like there is not a mountain to be found, and that we are walking from valley to valley. We long for even a glimpse of a rise on the horizon, but there are none. So, how do we keep moving on? Where can we find hope, or even dream of joy. We do so by looking up towards God, and not out at the horizon. We sing songs and psalms to Jesus, letting each footfall become the beat that keeps time for us. If we find ourselves in hopelessness, then let’s take that first step forward, then another, until at last we hear the refreshing beat of a new life, and our voice begins humming, and then singing the name “Jesus!”

A New Song of Communion, and Remembrance

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Sing a New Song

As men and women of faith we take communion, and in consuming the body of Christ we honor His instruction by remembering Him as we do so, but what are our remembrances, and how do we enter into them? Sometimes we stand in a line before the communion table, and one by one we take the body and the blood of Jesus, then individually we pray as the vision of His life races through our minds. At other times we are led together to consume the elements, and then recite known prayers in a singular form of remembering. Yet, what do we remember as we do this? So, when we pray alone we remember those things that our own spirit sees, as a group we all pray together what the spirit has laid on the heart of whoever directs us, but what is the effect of praying separately yet together? What does the result of Saints singing individual prayers together sound like, and present to the Lord?