As you build a testimony in prophetic song, there are ways to measure whether you have connected with the manifest presence of God. Of course, His presence is immeasurable; you’ll never be able to put a number on “how much” of God you’ve connected with. But there are a few evidences that you have connected with Him in prophetic song.
Numbers are the stuff of missionary newsletters: how many hungry people were fed at the outreach, how many pieces of literature went out, how many souls were saved. Good numbers look impressive.
But numbers don’t work when we try to measure our progress in prophetic song. The real measure is God’s manifest presence. Did people notice His presence as we worshiped? Did His presence change lives?
True, this is all subjective. Spirit can’t be measured as precisely as a chemist measures substances in a laboratory. The only instrument that can really measure Him is people, the one part of creation made in His image. If we want to measure our progress in prophetic song, we need to learn to read the instruments.
It begins with ourselves. Is your life changing as you worship God in prophetic song? Here are a few things to look for.
First-love. The Old and New Testaments agree that we should obey God, but they differ in terms of the inner life. Under law, we had to do right and avoid wrong in order to receive life, not death. In grace, we start with the free gift of life; then out of its overflow, we obey God.
It is the difference between the slave who does her best to be rewarded and to avoid punishment and the wife who does her best to please her husband because she loves him.
Prophetic song reawakens first-love. It uses music, but music is in the background as the Lord Himself takes center stage. As first-love increases, joyous obedience will follow. “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
Breaking. In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord and he cried out, “Woe is me, for I am undone, and I am a man of unclean lips…”
Sometimes the manifest presence of God comforts or excites us, but often the highest experiences break us. They strip us of self-confidence, though God may be speaking gracious things to us. It’s a paradox, like the story of Peter, who obeyed Jesus’ word and let down his nets and caught more fish than he thought possible – and then he broke and said, “Depart from me, Lord; I am a sinful man.”
Ask God for a breaking, then wait. Keep reaching for His heart week by week; keep lavishing worship on Him. The breaking will surely come.
Melting. If you read of America’s revivals in the 1800’s, you’ll often hear a meeting described in these words: “It was a melting time.” This referred to a spiritual atmosphere that brought a sweet sense of conviction. Somehow the greatness of God made people ashamed to continue to carry the grudges and offenses that accumulate in our hearts.
The early revivalists didn’t use prophetic song; they used preaching and prayer. But in my own lifetime, most of the melting times I have seen have happened in an atmosphere of prophetic worship.
Build a testimony. As you reach for God in prophetic worship, reach for times of first-love, of breaking, and of melting. Sometimes the presence of God will make it hard for the musicians to minister – players shaking so badly they can’t find their notes, singers weeping and unable to sing – but the musicians are in the background anyway.
Jesus is the one we want to see.
2 responses so far ↓
meltormes // February 3, 2009 at 8:12 pm |
it seems that we are losing the “melting time” in terms of music these days. when we sing, its no longer to offer it to God but to show our musical talents. Sad
gospelsmith // February 5, 2009 at 1:58 am |
True — but even if the musicians in the church around us are starstruck with their own music, at least we can melt in our personal devotions. Some of us can sing a new song to God as we play guitar or keyboard ourselves; others have to sing with a CD. Either way, if enough of us learn to melt at home, there’s room to hope the atmosphere will change in our gatherings.