17 Singing Bible verses, singing prayers

Our church has started a reading program for the whole congregation, The purpose driven life by Rick Warren (Zondervan, 2002). Friday I noticed it was number four on the Wall Street Journal list of best sellers. It is designed to be read in forty days, forty being an important Biblical number--rained for forty days, Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days, and Pentecost came forty days after the resurrection. However, our congregation will parse it out and finish the week of May 30, 2004.

There is a memory verse in Chapter 1, Colossians 1:16, our first assignment.

“For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”

These words were set to music, and the congregation sang them several times to help the memory [I still sing the alphabet]. That’s really what liturgy is--portions of scripture set to music. And it’s a wonderful way to hide scripture in your heart and mind.

The November December 2003 issue of Pray! has the theme “Sing to the Lord, a fresh expression of intercession” and it is about singing prayers. I’d never heard of that before, but it certainly is Biblical. There are many examples of expressions of joy, praise, thanksgiving, love and lament in Scripture. Here is an index to scripture songs in two Lutheran hymnals.

Dennis Jernigan, a song writer and recording artist, tells of being released from homosexuality at a concert by Second Chapter of Acts in 1981. He writes, “Sing your prayers to Him. And then take time to listen. God will break through! He is singing over us and into our circumstances.”