Choosing Songs

Geraldine Latty

THE STARTING POINT
This is the point at which I begin to think of prayers, readings and songs - with the continuing prayer ‘Father God, what are you breathing into this event/meeting?’

Here, I ask God for a starting point [or it could be a theme or framework] and begin to think of appropriate songs and readings that reflect that, but also asking Father God for his wisdom to serve the congregation in this time too. I am aware too that there are situations where you may have been given the songs beforehand, but the following suggestions might be useful for ongoing discussion in your team or group.

Praise and high praise, celebrating our God just because he is God is a great place to start!

So I will use songs that speak of the qualities and characteristics of our God. [Praise to the Lord the Almighty the King of creation; O God of love; All my days]

I’ve sometimes used a reflective devotional themed song here, again with the focus on our God, reminding us why we have come together, [sometimes giving that little space at the beginning for our bodies to catch up with our hearts and minds!]

If I use a reflective song [which invariably has a slower tempo] I would tend to link it with an up tempo song of praise [Jesu Tawa Pano - which means, Jesus we are here for you - into, Come now is the time to worship]. Not forgetting that there are some hymns and songs that can enable us to make the complete journey. [Immortal, Invisible God only wise, Holy, holy, lift up his name; Open the eyes of my heart Lord]

As an aside, I have found that starting with the focus on our needs, or even on what we can give to God, while important and real, proves insular and does not help to build expectation or faith in our God as the focus of our time together.

Any songs/call to worship words at the beginning of our time together that focus on him [God is good, God is faithful, His love goes on for ever, Praise the Lord…] are key prophetic statements that encourage our hearts to look to God first.

SONG CHOICE
Whatever the starting point - a list of songs given to me, or a chunk of time to fill - the principles I use here remain the same.

On choosing songs I’m using a few ‘filters’, a kind of selection process I suppose.
Here are a few, but I wouldn’t necessarily use them all in the same meeting/event!

• New and old/ Hymns and songs
I like to use newer and older hymns and songs that list the characteristics of God [And can it be, All my days, You are the sovereign I am] as well as songs that simply respond to this our wonderful God [I will worship, What a faithful God have I, You are God in heaven].

• Songs from around the world
Using songs that our sisters and brothers use in their praise and worship around the world, is a way of reminding ourselves that we belong to a worldwide church.

It can be very powerful to sing songs of praise from places such as South Africa, Cameroon and Peru, or to sing the song of intercession that church would have sung in the Philippines having lost everything in an earthquake! [Kay Yahweh Ako, from the Philippines which means ‘I’ll follow my Lord’, Siya Hambe – we are marching in the light of God]

• Songs of intercession
Looking into the world our God so loves, identifying needs within our own community and bringing them to God in song, perhaps, interspersing songs, prayers and visuals, to name a few expressions [Father hear our prayer, Bring your best to their worst; Jesus - God to the rescue; Salvation]

• Space for the spontaneous/prophetic song

• Songs of commissioning
Refocusing on our place in our God’s world [Everyday, I’m gonna trust in God, The Spirit of the Lord is on me now]

• Songs of praise and celebration.
Pure, abandoned joy in our God [There’s a pageant, Hallelujah, hosanna, I will dance]

• Readings/songs that give space to say: ‘I’m sorry’, cleanse me Lord, [Father I have sinned; When the music fades; Lord have mercy on us]

• Songs of affirmation
…not forgetting we also have a God who says ‘your sins are forgiven – go and sin no more! Space then, for songs that affirm our place in God [Before the throne of God above]

• Heart response
…giving space for our hearts to simply say ‘I love you Lord…’[You are God in heaven, Santo, Santo – my heart adores you; To be in your presence; I sing a simple song of love]


What ‘filters’ do you have? It might be a helpful exercise to work out which ones you use and apply them to upcoming services, events; or to look back and assess where you have been, to ensure that something of the breadth of our holy, loving, powerful God and all of the dimensions of his relationship with us and his world, have some space for expression.

Of course we cannot do it all in one event, and we need to be aware of the ‘supermarket’ mentality of trying to please everybody, but I have found these filters to be useful checking tools.

PRAYING THROUGH THE SONGS
One final point to mention is something I learned from another worship leader some years ago. It has proved to be one of the single most effective tools in my preparation.

Having chosen the songs [or using the given list of songs to work through] try praying through each song.

You will find that as you use the actual words of the hymn or song, in the form of a prayer, and pray them for yourself and for the group of people you will be leading, a new dynamic is added. The songs are no longer simply words on a page, but become prayers that God by his Spirit [and in a way that I struggle to articulate] will fill and use.

So, as you lead God’s precious people and join together with them to sing, the songs have already been prayed! A powerful tool in preparing ground, if you like, for God to use the hymns and songs to minister and pour into people hearts, and also into your own!

(c) Geraldine Latty

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