Faith,  Marriage Confessions

Singing Praises

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This past Sunday in church, we had a guest minister who gave a sermon about active prayer.  She suggested that sometimes we need to do physical actions when we pray to remind us of the words we are saying.  She even made the whole congregation stand up during her sermon and say the Lord’s Prayer using hand motions.  It was pretty odd, but it did get me thinking.

Sometimes when I pray, I’m just too tired or distracted to really focus on the words that I am saying.  More and more these days, my prayers are becoming me sitting there for a while and then finally saying, “Lord, you know me.  Do I really have to tell you what’s going on in my life?”  Sometimes those prayers are okay.  We get busy and I do believe that God would rather us take a minute to just check in with an empty prayer than to not talk to him at all.  But after the sermon this past Sunday, I started paying more attention to how often I was praying haphazardly.  Honestly, there just sometimes aren’t enough hours in the day for me to stop and give a really great prayer up, you know?

That’s partly where music comes into play for me.  I listen to praise and worship music in my car sometimes as a time for me to just praise God, especially on days when I’m too distracted to come up with my own prayers.  So, when I started thinking more about how to pray intentionally, music came to mind.  I can remember being in high school and going to my youth group on Sunday nights, spending an hour or more with my hands lifted in praise.  There were no requests in those prayers.  I wasn’t complaining or asking God for something.  I just spent an hour praising him.  And it was such a wonderful feeling.  For the past few days, I’ve been thinking that maybe the key to more meaningful prayers is spending more time in worship.

But when the heck would that happen?  Who has time?  (Sorry, God…)

The only time I have during the day that is 100% mine is between 5:30 and 6:30 in the morning when I go for my run.  Big Molly and I head out when it’s dark outside and we run all over our neighborhood, just the two of us.  It’s quiet.  It’s peaceful.  And I started to think maybe that was the perfect time for a little uninterrupted worship.

So, yesterday morning when I started my run, instead of using my running app with Jeff Galloway who talks to me while I run, walk, and die slowly on my neighbors lawns, I turned on Pandora and found a praise and worship music station.  I spent almost an hour running around with some really great old school praise music blasting in my ears.  And I worshipped.  Sure, there were occasional prayers thrown in there.

Lord, please don’t let me throw up in my neighbors birdbath…”

God, please help me make it back home before I pass out…”

But for the most part, I just listened to praise music and thought things like, “Thank you God for giving me a body that is stronger than I think it is.”

About halfway through my run, I started singing.  Out loud.  One of my favorite praise songs came on and before I really knew what I was doing, I started singing it out loud as I ran.  But since I was winded, it sounded more like I was panting in phrases.

“Here…I am…to…worship….(pant, pant, pant)…  Here I am…to…bow…down… (pant, pant, pant)… Here I am to say…that…you’re…my…God… (pant, pant, pant)…”

Because I run when it’s dark, I usually go through our neighborhood and then out onto a major road that’s well lit.  Since it is out on a major road and there aren’t any houses around, I really let myself go with the singing and before I knew it, I was singing REALLY, REALLY loudly.  Even Big Molly kept looking up at me.  But I didn’t care.  It was early, no one was out, I wasn’t bothering anyone, and this was my worship time.  So, I sang.

But, then I turned down my own street and was back around houses and neighbors again and because I had my headphones in and was busy singing at the top of my lungs, I completely didn’t pay attention to where I was.  As I started down my street, I noticed a neighbor who had come out to get his paper.  He must have heard me singing because he kind of stopped and stood there, staring at me.  And still, I didn’t realize I was continuing to sing.  So, I go jogging by this neighbor, panting, close to passing out, sweating, dragging my embarrassed, fat black lab, and panting/puffing/singing, “Amazing Grace” at the top of my lungs.  It was only when I got about two houses past this guy that I realized that I was still singing so loudly.  By then, I was back in my own yard and I quickly ran inside so I could die of embarrassment in the privacy of my own home.

Maybe that’s what that guest minister was trying to tell us.  Maybe the point she was making about moving and taking action during our prayers was that when we become active in our prayers, they become so strong and present in our lives that we don’t even really have to think about them anymore.  Maybe intentional prayers are the prayers of those who are just trying too hard.  Maybe the best prayers are the ones we do without thinking about it.  The ones that just flow out of us, that are unstoppable.  Maybe it’s those prayers we can’t help but pray that really matter.

27 Comments

  • Alaina

    Very inspiring! And something that is important to keep in mind. You shouldn’t be embarrassed, though…I’m sure you inspired your neighbor, too!

  • Jen

    Love it! This is such a good reminder. I, too, connect with God through music, but my worship time tends to happen during my commute. Thanks for sharing!

  • Staci

    A-freaking-men, sister! I sing in a “band” in my church and I don’t think anyone outside of us realizes how powerful we feel the music is. I lose myself in it and the times I’m singing with my peeps are the best in my whole world (aside from snuggling with my little dude). I absolutely agree with what you’re saying, but could never say it so beautifully. Thanks for being super-duper awesome.

  • Katy

    LOVE THIS!! I also get in prayer slumps…there just never seems to be enough hours in the day to really contact with God. The time I have in my car by myself on my way to and from work are when I rock out to some worship music…it is definitely good for the soul. I am definitely not a good singer…but someone once told me that to God all of us sound equally wonderful…so Katie don’t worry about what your neighbor though of your singing…to God you sounded Kari Jobe!! 🙂

  • Jen @ Caved In

    I am one of those people who says little prayers throughout the day. Yesterday’s included “Lord, thank you for keeping my family and I healthy.” “Please give my patients strength to beat this disease” “Please give me patience so I won’t run anyone over with my car on the way home, no matter how rude they are” “Thank you for giving me such a wonderful happy child”. And then at the end of the day I just say “Thank you”.

    I pity the person who hears me singing out loud. Even Sullivan tells me “No mama” when I do it in the car.

  • Sarah H.

    LOVE IT! I am the lead singer (and often the the only singer) in our praise band at church and we just sang “Here I am to Worship” this past Sunday! Love that song! Of all the crazy busy hours of things I do for church, practicing the praise band music and singing once a month on Sundays is my FAVORITE–it never feels like work, and I feel so uplifted!

    I noticed I was attempting to pray after I crawled into bed at night and I would always end up falling asleep. So now I try to pray when I’m rocking and nursing Natalie to sleep.

  • Kristinia

    I recently took the KLove 30 day chanllenge of only listening to christian music for 30days and its been 2.5 months since I started and it has completely changed me. A song will come that just changes my day and I worship God. Great post and a great reminder!!

  • Amy

    What a fantastic post! Singing is absolutely one of my fantastic ways to praise God- I’ll sing children’s worship songs, hymns, popular Christian praise songs.
    The other way I get outside-of-church prayer and praise into my life is at dinner with my boyfriend. He and I always pray before meals together, and plan to continue this when we have a family. We think it’s a great way to stop in the middle of a busy time and thank God for the abundence of blessings in our lives.
    Keep the posts coming! – Your fan in WI.

  • Kelly H

    What a great post! I too have a hard time stopping in the middle of my day and remembering to pray. I too love praise and worship and feel so connected to God that way. Thanks for the reminder to add more of it into my day! Also at night my hubby and I pray together before we go to sleep and that to me is the best. It started when I was in college and living alone and I went through a spell of having horrible nightmares every night, so my (then) bf would call me before bed and pray with me – something about praying out loud together was a huge comfort and helped me to sleep. Six years later and it is still something we do together every night and I love it. Its time we share together and with the Lord.

  • John Doe

    Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife, thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife.

    She does have a beautiful smile though.

  • The Life and Times of Me

    I was just thinking how listening to praise and worship while I’m running helps me to get closer to God. It may seem odd to some, but there’s something to be said about praising God while you’re close to death I mean running.

  • Mandy

    I love this! It’s so easy to get caught up in life and forget about the person who gave you that life. Thanks for the reminder to slow down and pray!

  • nylse

    this is great! because i do this also and just before i read this i was thinking “i need to pray more” do you mind if i share on my blog with you getting all the credit, of course? (email your response)

  • Nikki

    Thanks for the inspiration Katie. I’m downloading a new station to Pandora now! It will be great for work. Also, I started going back into your archives and started reading in 2008. It is awesome to read pre-Bean, since I joined your blog right before you had him. It’s awesome!

  • Jessica W.

    I Love everything about this post. I have been feeling the same way. I am never more ADD then when I pray. I really needed this, to be reminded that I’m not alone, the only one that has a hard time focusing in prayer or does the “You know my heart” prayer a little too often, but also be given a way to deal with changing it. Thank you!

  • Chloe

    Great post Katie! I think music has a big part of helping our relationship with Him. It’s great that their is not just one way to worship and connect to God. I often pray when I’m working out (particularly when on the verge of dying) I praise Him that I am able to do what I’m doing and I think this also has a positive impact on my working out, speaking words of power!

  • Lori @ I Can Grow People

    I listen to old school hip hop when I walk/run/come close to death. I wonder what neighbors find more disturbing: someone singing the praise of their God or a thirty something white lady who knows all the words to Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight”?

  • brooke

    Love love love your blog!! I’ve never commented before but this post was what I needed today! You are awesome!Praise God!
    And is it just me or is “John Doe’s” comment kinda creepy?

  • Lindsey

    HAHA – I loved the visual of your neighbor staring at you and your embarrassed lab. Killed me!
    And ya, John Doe is freaking me out.

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