I’ll never forget the first time I experienced a Concert of Prayer and Praise. After I witnessed my first, I begged the Lord for an opportunity to not only allow me to be a participant in, but a conduit of this kind of Spirit-filled reality. True to form, God took me up on my desire to host a Concert of Prayer and Praise and allowed me to craft one of my very own for His glory.
With tear-stained cheeks, I basked in the warmth and radiance of His glory during the entire 45 minutes of heaven on earth. I imagine the way I felt as I led other women through the phases of this praise fest personifies the angels as they sing glory to God in the heavenlies. My response after the concert was simple: “Lord, if you never afford me the opportunity to experience praising you in that way again, I will spend forever recalling the delight and pleasure that rested upon me during that time of worship.
Indescribable.
Holy ground.
A true blessing.
What is a Concert of Prayer and Praise you may wonder? Technically speaking, a compilation of music, praise and adoration, thanksgiving, personal prayer and reflection, corporate prayer, Scripture, and song, to sum it up. But from a heart perspective – heaven. Pure heaven!
From the perspective of daily living, a Concert of Prayer portrays a life of continual praise, thanksgiving, and dependency on the Lord. And I believe the Lord would love for our daily lives to unfold in symphonic-like prayer just as in the concert of prayer I experienced.
With horns, cymbals, drums, harps and lyres, God desires for us to display our gratitude and joy for who He is and what He has done! Whether through a polonaise of praise, a rip roarin’ rap, or even a hip-hop happy dance, God inhabits the praises of His people. Psalm 150 expresses a marvelous prayer of praise and even describes the instrumentation.
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
But what about those times of sorrow, need, or desperation, you may ask? Conjuring up the “want-to” for song amidst the difficulties of life seems almost paradoxical, after all, singing unleashes the happy. Who really sings in the midst of pain?
May I suggest that when you find yourself in desperate times, a soulful ballad, longing lament, or melancholy nocturne tunes God’s heart to your inmost need and helps you portray the depth of feeling buried deep within. Hear the Psalmist’s heart-felt longing in Psalm 13.
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Bringing comfort and consolation to your soul, pouring your heart out to God in desperate need ultimately unleashes the power to turn weeping into dancing.
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! – Psalm 30:11
- Would you be willing to fill your life with prayers that reflect your joys and sorrows, wants and needs, laughter and tear, longings and loves and craft your own Concert of Prayer and Praise over a life time?
If our lives were continual Concerts of Prayer and Praise, they would resound with beauty, truth, goodness, and grace. Oh how I believe this would bless God’s heart and show Him love and gratitude. Oh, how this would change our actions and attitudes with others, filling our lives with hope and peace.
Will you try it, my friend? Take time today to craft a Concert of Prayer and Praise in your life for God’s glory. You will be blessed!
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. – Romans 12:12
Happy Thanksgiving dear ones!
