Live the Lyrics

I love praise and worship music.  I like the “jump around and go crazy kind” and the “quiet yourself and reflect” kind and all types in between.  I just love it!  St. Augustine said that “singing is praying twice” and I’m down with that, but is it?  I think about some of the prayers we pray at Mass and wonder if they are even praying once.   Have you ever felt like everybody is just rushing through the words because it’s what you do rather than savoring those sacred syllables and letting them flow from our lips into our hearts?  If we can sometimes get distracted from our prayer in Mass, how much easier is it to get distracted, at the various youth events we all attend, from praying our singing?  For real, think about it . . .  we’re seeing old friends, jumping around and having all kinds of fun, for some of us, the opportunity to hear/sing that type of music live is rare.  With all those distractions it’s easy to forget the purpose of the song.

While I was at one of these events recently and listening to the words as we sang them, it got me thinking, “what if we really lived the lyrics?  What if we allowed the lyrics to be such a part of our souls we were unable to separate ourselves from them?  What if we actually did what we sang about?”  I thought about a few of my favorites and what that would look like:

Broken and Beautiful by Mark Schultz

A line from this song that really strikes me is “When you let God’s grace break in, it’s beautiful.  Come as you are, surrender your heart, Broken and Beautiful.” 

God wants us just as we are, but we have surrender our hearts.  We must allow God in to our hearts, to beautify them, no matter how broken they are or how ugly they have become.  

From the Inside Out by Hillsong

This praise and worship song has been fairly popular for the last couple of years and when you allow the lyrics to pour over you it is really a call to something more.   Check out these lyrics: “Your will above all else, my purpose remains, The art of losing myself in bringing you praise”.  Uh wow, do we live everyday with God’s will above all else?  According to the song that is our purpose.  I have seen many people lose themselves as they sing, but does that loss of self continue after the retreat or conference?  If we’re so caught up in being and doing, we leave little room for God to guide us.  Only when we lose ourselves can we really stay at the center of God’s will. 

Hold My Hand by Adam Bitter

Consider this lyric, by my friend Adam, “I need you Father of mine, Lord Jesus take hold of my life, Holy Spirit stay by my side, hold my hand”.  I struggle so often with thinking I have it under control, that I can handle things on my own.  I constantly need to be reminded to go to God and allow him to guide me and take control of my life.  I want so desperately to allow the Holy Spirit to lead me in all my interactions.  I want to allow and know that our Father is holding my hand.  I’ve decided that I want to start each day with this as my prayer.  Because I am forgetful, I decided to write those lines on a note card and stick it on the table next to my bed.  Now each morning when I wake up, I thank God for the day and then pray this lyric from “Hold My Hand”.

You Are My Joy by The David Crowder* Band

Since I first heard this song, almost 3 years ago, it’s been my favorite.  I LOVE it!  Part of that is probably because David Crowder is one of my faves, but also because my personal motto is “focus on the joy”.  I’ve found that so helpful in good and bad times because when you look for it, you can always find the joy.  The song is so simple, these lines in particular stick out to me “And I cannot hold it in, Remain composed.  Love's taken over me, So I propose the letting myself go.  I am letting myself go.”  When I sing these words (typically it’s more shouting than singing) it’s a reminder to care less about what the world may think about me and more what God thinks.  To truly be myself and share my faith without fear of judgement and allow God’s love to flow through me to everyone around me.

When we really live the lyrics we allow God to work through us in even more powerful ways.  Jesus said that He would do great things but that greater things are still to come (also a lyric) through us.  The only way those greater things will come is if we allow ourselves to be changed, changed by the sacraments, prayers and lyrics.

BTW, a lot of people have been asking for titles of songs from the Steubenville Youth Conference and so, thanks to Adam Bitter, here they are:

Christ is Risen by Matt Maher, it hasn't been released yet, and will come out in September on his new album Alive Again 

From the Inside Out by Hillsong

Fire Fall Down by Hillsong

Your Name High by Hillsong

Lifted High or Lifted High by Andy Needham

God of the City by Chris Tomlin

You’re Everything by The David Crowder* Band 

How You Love Me By Bebo Norman

Glorious God by Adam Bitter (will be on Adam’s new CD)

Overwhelm Me by Adam Bitter

Hold My Hand by Adam Bitter