All through my childhood, I grew up attending a church that had a very diverse music program. We believed in worshiping with all the musical talents God provides including instruments and voices. It was what I believe to be a good blend of styles from modern praise and worship to the time-honored hymns that have inspired believers for centuries.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret that might even get me in trouble for sharing. When I was a kid and even a teenager, I wouldn’t sing all the songs during church. I would just mouth some of the words. The odd thing was, it was out of respect, not rebellion. I knew that back then, I didn’t have a relationship with God. Sure, I respected God and saw him as my savior, but there was not the personal relationship that I knew I needed and craved, just never felt “right” about. So, I would sing with gusto along with songs that were about God’s grace, power and other amazing attributes. It was the songs that spoke of a personal relationship that I just didn’t feel comfortable singing. I felt like it would be a lie to sing them and that’s disrespectful, right? I knew I would draw attention to myself for not singing so I always mouthed the words.
Now that I have that personal relationship, it’s the songs that speak of a personal relationship that I crave to sing. Those now have the most power for me. I still love the praise songs, but I cherish the songs I call “connection songs.”
There was one song that we would always sing to close each church service that to this day, I just love. Even in my 20s when I did nearly all I could to run from God, I found peace in hearing or even reading the lyrics to the Doxology. The lyrics are actually a part of a longer song but most churches just sing the few lines:
Doesn’t that just give you chills? Chills of peace (if that even makes sense?)
If it doesn’t, perhaps you should watch this video of the song being performed at a wedding. I love the vocals on this!