Remember Your people…

This past week during chapel at my school, we were singing together, and as we got to a certain set of lyrics, my heart began to break

Remember Your people.  Remember Your children.  Remember Your promise, oh God.

My thoughts were shifted immediately to the pictures, videos, and stories of Haiti we have all seen.

And conviction swept over me – how often do I sing these worship songs and only think of myself – forgetting my fellow man in much more need than I – forgetting that when we as the body come together in worship, something mighty can happen in the kingdom of God – forgetting that the kingdom of God does not simply include our little church circle – forgetting that the kingdom of God is in our midst – forgetting that the kingdom of God covers the world – every nation, every person, every church – forgetting that the kingdom of God is about the Church and not just our churches

How often do I forget that our songs are prayers and we have the power to intercede over the kingdom of God?

This is not to say we should not feel liberty to pray over ourselves, to sing those words over our very lives – there is most certainly a time and place for that – but I venture to question – with what should our prayers be primarily concerned – ourselves or others?  Worship is more than the songs we sing – it is our praise to God in our actions, prayers, communion with him, our art, our music, our words, our offerings, our hearts…

If what we do to the least of these, we do unto Him – is not our intercession a form of praise?

What would it look like, Church, if when we gathered corporately, our songs were more than just words with music that we sing half-heartedly – or words that we sing only focused on ourselves – but if we believed that those words and prayers could truly shake the kingdom of God?  One of the most beautiful things about worship songs and our corporate expression of worship is that a whole group of people are praying the same words into the atmosphere, into the kingdom of God – and that is powerful.

There will always be sobering disasters close to home and across the seas – things that break our hearts – as well as things that cause for celebration – but Church, may we respond to those in worship – worship over the weary and over the rejoicing – may we come together and sing these songs  knowing that they can be prayers into the atmosphere over our brothers and sisters and circumstances about which we know much or we know little – all that matters is that we know we must intercede on their behalf – may we step out of our self-centeredness – even when we don’t feel like it, may those be the times, when we sing with more urgency over another – and may our corporate prayers never be idle.

And in this time, God we cry out over Haiti

Remember Your people.  Remember Your children.  Remember Your promise, Oh God

(Just a note – this writing is out of personal conviction above all else)