The Powerful Benefits of Praise and Worship Music

Music is a powerful art. It can evoke emotions and memories. It can be used to express ourselves, tell stories, share a message or motivate others. It can be used to set the mood in a room. It can be used to honor a person or a nation. It can also unite people as it is an international language.

Music is a talent and gift bestowed on mankind from God. Only good things come from God as we read in James 1:17,

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights..."

Music is a good and perfect gift which means it is meant to be a benefit to mankind. When we take this benefit and use it to glorify, honor and praise God, we can receive the full magnitude of this blessed gift. Let us explore examples of music employed in the Bible along with its benefits.

In 1 Samuel 16:14-23, we find that music is soothing to the soul. Here, King Saul was tormented by an evil spirit so his attendants summoned David to come play the lyre and we read in verse 23,

"Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him."

We, too, can receive a soothing calmness in music. Whenever you find yourself stressed, upset, worried or depressed, turn on worship music and praise God. The act of praising God through music can turn an inward focus upward to God and towards all His goodness, power and strength. Reminding us that with God, all things are possible.

Once our focus changes, our body can relax which promotes healing. This leads us to the next benefit of music which is that it is good medicine. We read in Proverbs 17:22,

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."

Positive, upbeat music can nurture a cheerful heart within us. With a positive mindset, we are more apt to heal or to more easily persevere through an illness even if we don't receive a full recovery.

The next benefit of music found in the Bible is confidence and strength. We find in 2 Chronicles that King Jehoshaphat was facing a vast army coming against him and the people. They inquired of the Lord who told them in verse 15,

‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s."
With confidence, Jehoshaphat appointed men to go out ahead of the army and sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”

Just like Jehoshaphat, we too have been promised victory by God. No matter what battle we may face, known or unknown, we can march forward with the same confidence and sing praises to God for the victory already won.

The final benefit we will explore is the power of music to call upon the Spirit and inspiration.

In 2 Kings 3, the kings of Israel and Judah wanted to inquire of the Lord about an impending battle against Moab so they summoned Elisha the Prophet. Prior to inquiring the Lord, Elisha asks for a harp to be played. We read in verse 15

"While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came on Elisha" and then he began prophesying.

The Spirit can also speak to us through music, reminding us of the perfect scripture or promise of God when we need it most. For example, we may wake up in the middle of the night with worries and suddenly a worship song begins playing in our head and calms our mind with assurances.

Music is a powerful, beautiful gift from God. It is a gift which each of us can incorporate into our spiritual lives. We don't have to be personally gifted with the talent of music. God has given us talented musicians to share this gift with us. Let us remember this valuable asset that God has provided and use it to worship, honor and praise Him. When we do, we will realize all its wonderful benefits and blessings.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The mission of Daily God Gems is to share God's word and be a source of encouragement, peace, love and unity in Messiah. Visit us at www.facebook.com/dailygodgems and www.dailygodgems.com