A wonderful thing happened to me when I was eleven years old: I joined the children’s choir at my church. I had no idea that event would shape the rest of my life. I learned anthems and hymns and chants that I still know.

There is something about the rhyme and meter of texts set to music that makes them stick with you forever. I have gone to many nursing homes where people barely respond to another person’s presence, but sing an old song or hymn and faces light up, toes start tapping, and sometimes they sing along.

Most of the hymns we sing are prayers. Many of the liturgical pieces we sing in corporate worship are prayers from the scriptures. Why not use them as prayers in our personal devotions? The music adds a non-verbal dimension to prayer. As St. Augustine wrote, “Whoever sings, prays twice.”

We can actually sing the hymns. If you’re by yourself, it doesn’t matter if you can’t carry a tune. Go ahead and sing anyway. You can listen to recordings of hymns. You can read the words. What better way to close the day than with a hymn like “Abide with me”?

Abide with me, fast falls the eventide
The darkness deepens, Lord, with me abide
When other helpers fail and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Give it a try and see if singing prayers is for you.  Read Psalm 96, and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne

This was one of a series of blogs on prayer, posted by Pastor Wayne in the fall of 2016.