## Sweet Hour of Prayer #8: Singing

## Psalm 100:2

Tonight we want to discuss one of the most neglected aspects of personal worship and prayer: singing alone in the presence of God. Ps. 100:2, "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing." Many of us freely participate in congregational singing, but few have discovered the joy of singing songs unto the Lord during prayer.

On two different occasions Paul spoke of 'making melody' in our hearts unto the Lord with 'spiritual songs' (Ep. 5:19, Col. 3:16). These songs are songs that originate in the hearts of the believer, not songs that come from hymn books because hymn books didn't come into existence until centuries later. Remember that Paul and Silas sang praises unto God while they were in prison (Acts 16:25).

What kind of songs should we sing in our prayer time?

I. Songs of Praise.

A. Ps 135:3, "Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant."

B. Do not be concerned about the sound of your voice or whether you are on key.

C. We are talking about songs that come from your heart.

D. Example of children who make up the song as they go.

II. Songs of Power and Mercy.

A. Ps 59:16, "But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble."

B. Not only does the psalmist speak of singing, but here he speaks of singing aloud.

C. Our songs should originate in our hearts, but should not be confined there.

III. Songs of Thanksgiving.

A. Ps 147:7, "Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:"

B. As we said previously, praise is offered up recognizing God for who He is and thanksgiving is offered in recognition of what God has done for us.

C. In singing with thanksgiving we create a song based on those specific gifts or blessings God has provided.

IV. Songs of God's Names.

A. Ps 69:30, "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving."

B. There are many names for God in the Old and New Testaments.

C. Singing the name of God is Scriptural and is pleasing unto God.

V. Songs of God's Word.

A. Ps 119:54, "Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage."

B. To put melody to God's Word is another excellent way to worship Him in song.

C. James 5:13, admonishes the believer, "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms".

D. There are many 'Scripture Songs' where people have put the Word to music...but we can be creative in this as well.

These are just some of the themes that we can use in our prayer songs. Perhaps you can think of others. Ultimately, worship will be our eternal purpose in heaven, and singing will be a great part of this eternal purpose. Let's practice while we spend time with the Lord in prayer.