Did you know that the Lord is looking for Worship leaders, Singers or Musicians that are less in tune with their vocal ranges but more in tune with the voice of the Holy Spirit?
To my Beloved Musicians, Worship Leaders, Choir Leaders, Worship Team Members and Instrumentalists – Are you a Minstrel?
Over the years, I have observed in our church choirs, bands, music groups etc…incredible musicality, various vocal ranges, calibrated skills, with many trained to surprise the listener with all sorts of musical devices: sudden modulations, sudden stops, rubato, fermatas, contrasts in style and tempo, and so on and so forth but with very few people that can sing and the glory of the Lord comes down.
I have also been in the most beautifully structured churches. They are so gorgeous to look at YET the Spirit of the Lord is nowhere to be found during the church service – they minister and dwell in the ‘soul realm’ as opposed to ‘spiritual realm’.
I have also sat in simple living rooms with a handful of Saints and the presence of God manifests so strong and tangible in that undefined space. For the Father (who is Spirit) is looking for true worshippers that worship Him in truth and in Spirit (John 4:23).
An honest look at the church today (beginning with you and me), we have many people that come to church or listen to our online services troubled with a lot of things. Many are troubled with bills to pay, broken relationships, past failures, mistakes, fear of what tomorrow holds etc. And what they need is effective praise and worship that manifests the supernatural to deal with their situations.
The Lord is looking for minstrels or worship leaders that can sing the heart and mind of God.
The Lord is looking for Worship leaders that are less in tune with their guitars and more in tune with what the Holy Spirit is saying.
The Lord is looking for Worship leaders, Singers or Musicians that are less in tune with their vocal ranges but more in tune with the voice of the Holy Spirit so that when they raise their voice in worship, they activate the miraculous and prophetic anointing.
When Elisha needed to give a word of knowledge to King Jehoshaphat, he called for a ministrel. He said in
2 Kings 3:15-16 ..”But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played [the harp], that the hand of the LORD came upon him [and the Man of God started prophesying]”.
When David played the harp, the evil spirit would leave Saul (1 Samuel 16:23).
What went wrong with our praise and worship?
To touch the hearts of men with your songs, music or praise and worship requires Sacrifice.
Sacrifice preceeds the manifestation of the fire and the glory of the Lord.
I am talking about offering our bodies as a living sacrifices, holy, acceptable to God (Roman 12:1).
I am talking of living a sacrificial life where you lay down your life first at the altar before the Lord or on in a secret place alone with God before you minister to others.
While before Him you share your deepest hurts, pains, hopes, feelings, secrets (if you have any), and the like. It is a place where you can lay your heart and soul totally bare before the Lord and allow Him to transform you in His presence and fill you at the same time. It is so personal and intimate.
If your own praise and worship songs cannot change you and the people around you then you are simply entertaining the children of God. I once told my worship teams members, that if you are talking about a God that provides, delivers, heals and yet He is not manifesting that in your life, then something is pretty wrong.
No wonder some songs and music sound like noisy gongs before the Lord (1 Corinthians 13:1).
“The Lord says, ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” Isaiah 29:13.
Leading worship is not cheer leading but It’s leadership from the inside out. The people of God need more than incredible musicality.
Allow the Spirit of the Lord to be at liberty in your worship service to minister to the hearts of men through you. For where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).
When worship is under the “canopy of His glory”, God will quench that which does not please Him in our lives and in the church and replace it with His own values according to His love and mercy. As worship leaders, let us make room for His glory…
Extracted from the book ‘Ascending into Prophetic Worship’ written by Dr. Victoria Kisaakye Kanobe, from TWG Leadership