The Heart of Praise and Worship

Lord let your Glory fall like rain. Saturate us like never before. Let your Glory be revealed on the Earth through your vessels.

I’ve had such a struggle writing this blog. It was originally longer and I was going to give my testimony of how God called me at a young age to sing in the structure that we call Praise and Worship. Then give a tired list of what not to do and what to do. But instead I have decided to just get straight to the point and say what needs to be said in a simply way. Anyone who knows me knows it is a part of my calling that I do not take lightly and I always want to go deeper. I have gone deeper and I will go deeper and you can too.

Our main focus as leaders is to simply turn the focus of the people of God towards the throne room of heaven. Our praise and worship should be directly to Him and Him alone. When we minister to Him, we will minister to the people and they will want to praise and worship God; not so much because we are singing a good song but because the atmosphere has shifted and His presence has becomes tangible. I will tell you not everyone is aware of His presence and they may simply be looking for entertainment from the team. Do not be discouraged; do what you know God has called and given you to do. One day they may see with spiritual eyes.

There are some individuals who solely use the platform of a praise and worship leader as means to display their talent. We thank God for the talent but praise and worship is not the place to show off for people. It’s sickening and anyone with Holy Spirit discernment can smell you from a mile away. Singers and musicians should be able to sing and play their instruments skillfully but it has to do with so much more than a skillful sound when played to the Lord. I do believe all singers and musicians should invest in their gift and receive some sort of training. God anoints and uses His vessels who have committed their talents and gifts to Him. So again I say it is not simply a place to display talent but a call. Truthfully, we are all called to bless the Lord so don’t think you need to be on stage. Your worship is just as important during the service even if you can’t sing. Sing from your chair like you are in the Throne room…lol….

There is a difference between those who are anointed and those who are just talented. Trust me, talent fails, but when God is involved He gets the glory and does things that we can only imagine in praise and worship……..Then you laugh and you’re like thanks for the reminder God that you didn’t call me for my talent alone and that sometimes we forget to rely on You even when we want to bless You………. Your sound becomes distinct from all others and oh how God loves that sound. It is hard to explain but I know what it is. It is God's presence in the vessel Spirit manifested upon those who are filled with the Holy Spirit. God gives us what we have so we can give it back to Him and He anoints and blesses what we are.

The anointing is not from individuals but from God. This is something that He does. It comes from being with Him in His presence; spending time in his word. “Worship Leaders, your spiritual preparation is your most important preparation. Don’t neglect it” .Yes true He is always present, but being in His presence during worship and prayer that requires you to stop all that you are doing is different. It is intimate. It’s almost as time stops. To the one who has not been in the presence of God this may sound bizarre or mystical, but it’s not. God actually wants to have fellowship with us. It is why He made us. This fellowship is obtainable to all who have given their lives to Jesus. We can have as much of God as we want. And there is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much to be given to us.

I feel like God really loves music. All they do in heaven is praise God day and night and day and night. It’s all they do!!! They have harps and the harp is not an easy instrument lol…. But seriously God is to be exalted above all else. I know as praise and worship leaders we are to follow the scene of heaven. Obviously because we are human we cannot worship day and night. But our lifestyles should speak of His greatness and when we are ministering in worship; our adoration should be to Him. Sing to Him a new song! Sing spontaneously! Sometimes the song you didn’t plan or write are the best ones. God loves to hear us and we should love singing and playing before Him!

A long time ago…. Ok like 5yrs ago I use to be concerned with people not praising and worshipping God in the service. I knew I didn’t want to be one of those leaders who sang the fake Hallelujah to stir the atmosphere- lol ya’ll know the one LOL. But I wanted to create an atmosphere for God to move. I did not understand what I prayed for but it was just burning in me that God always wants to do more. I was instructed to just bless God and to forget about the people. This is not to say that you ignore your audience’s needs because I know God will give you words to sing for times and moments which cause you to effectively minster. The people have to have a heart for God also. Sometimes the people in our pews really just don’t know what to do or have so many issues that their flesh blinds them of what is happening. Distractions can also happen if your team is not on the same spiritual page or has no desire to go deeper. There has to be unity with your team. In the past I would be asked why do you only let certain people and musicians sing and play with you. My response was because there is unity in the Spirit with us, and because they always come prepared to minister to God. And if they were out of place they were removed. I never had to kick anyone off a team but they were removed. God will not let anyone steal His Glory. He will not share it but He will pour it out on humble vessels. Ugh He’s so crazy good.

I was about 13 when the anointing of God manifested in my life through singing and I was given this verse and it changed the way I sang before Him. Even though I did not remember it until I was about  15 or 16 nor sought for it until that time

11When the priests came forth from the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard to divisions),

12 and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and kinsmen, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them one hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets

13 in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the Lord saying, “He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting,” then the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud,

14 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. 2 Chronicles 5:11-14

Our purpose as praise and worship leaders is for the Glory of God to fill our places of worship so that lives can be changed, people be saved from their sin, signs, wonders and whatever else God wants to do. Our praise and our worship is powerful not because we are good at it but because He is good and we get to declare His goodness. Every time we open our mouth and every time we lay a hand on an instrument it should be so that His Glory, Jesus, will be revealed in us so that others can encounter God like never before. This is not to say that every time God manifest Himself He will show up the same way. Don’t be disappointed if the whole congregation isn’t slain every Sunday or whenever you are leading praise and worship. We are there to set the atmosphere, period. How God wants to show up is not up to us but we should minister with the expectation that He is going to do something great, and He will. Setting the atmosphere is not only for the people who are on stage, have the mic or whatever; this call is for everyone. While the singers are singing I believe the people should be praying. The singers should even be praying. There is nothing like a song sang prayerful or with understanding.

I can go on and on give you a bunch of scriptures and share a whole lot of experiences but I will stop lol…………. Just know Praise and worship is not about you- it’s about our great and mighty God. Our worship should be on earth as it is in heaven. Leading Praise and Worship is a call not a talent or a good idea. We bless God for your structure, structure is good but allow God to wreck your program. There must be unity….. And ultimately GOD WANTS TO POUR HIMSELF OUT ON US AND TAKE US DEEPER.

This is one of my favorite worship songs from 2 Chronicles 5:11-14

Just another song I love that reminds us of our purpose!