10 Ways to Make Music for God's Glory

Hey y’all!  When I decided to begin another blog post this week, I had no clue what I was going to write about.  Lately I’ve been attempting to write an actual whole book, so I’ve chosen to do that instead of blogging.  But at this point, I’m desperate to write another blog post.  I want to give my readers something to chew on.

But do you want to know the biggest reason why I came back today to write another post?  Every time I open up the phone version of this blog, the first thing I see is me in that hideous, crazy snipe costume from my last post.

There, I said it.

But yes, I still DO want to write because I want to inspire and give y’all something new! ;) So let’s just say that the snipe picture has been a great source of motivation… :)

Anyway, enough of those ramblings… today I want to share with you 10 ways you can use music for God’s glory!

If you know me, you know that I’m crazy about music.  I play 3 instruments and know bits of 2 others.  I write my own music, which my wonderful music composition computer program is for.  I sing in my church choir, although I’m not necessarily a great singer.  The ideal social gathering, in my opinion, is when everyone is gathered around the piano, singing their lungs out or playing various instruments.  Ah yes, I love music!

Musical ability is God-given.  And it is such a wonderful gift, I think.  In God’s Word we find so many passages about praising and worshiping God with music!  The man after God’s own heart, David, was known as a skillful musician.  Many of the Psalms which he wrote were meant to be put to music. We know that one day we will come into Christ’s presence with singing.  Isn’t it wonderful to be able to praise Him with music now, though?!  We can praise God TODAY through our music!  And there are countless ways we can use our musical abilities for God’s glory!  Here are just a few.

1.  Play offertories at your church.   I do this often at my church.  It’s a great way to minister to others through music!

2.  Sing in a Christian/church choir.  I also do this.  Although I’m not a great singer, like I said before, I love to sing and want to use my voice to praise God and be a ministry to others.  So I sing in my church choir!

3.  Organize get-togethers just so you can sing hymns around the piano.  Okay, so I’ve never actually arranged a gathering to do this before, but I’ve been involved in activities in which the specific plan was to “share testimonies and sing hymns.”  And why not have an afternoon where you invite friends over just to sing and make music to the Lord?!

4.  Have “Jam-sessions” with your friends, and come up with hymn arrangements.  Ooh, this is so fun :)  It’s a great teamwork exercise too!

5.  Accompany or perform at a nursing home.  It’s a sure way to bless others.  I promise you, the residents will be so appreciative!

6.  Create a CD of songs you have played.  One year my older brothers and I created a CD of recordings of us playing different pieces we had learned throughout the year.  My tech-y brother created the CDs and we sent them out as Christmas presents for our extended family members.  They loved it!  And we also got to use those CDs to minister to my great-grandfather in Michigan, who was in a nursing home.

7.  Write you own music.  Now, I understand that not all musicians compose.  But I think that if you try, you may be surprised at what you can do! :)  If anything, go back and do number 4 on this list! ;)

8.  Play a hymn arrangement in a recital.  I’ve played in several recitals where hymn arrangements were scarce in the line-up of songs.  If you have the choice, you may want to think about playing a hymn arrangement in a recital like that!

9.  Have the attitude of, “May Christ be seen in me.”  This is the key!  If you don’t have the right attitude, God won’t be glorified.  Sure, He can still work through our failures, but think of how much more glory you can give to God when you have the right attitude!  And this doesn’t apply to only music; this applies to ALL of life!

10.  Pass down your abilities.  Again, I know that not all musicians are meant to be teachers.  But I encourage you to find some way to pass down your love of music to the younger ones in your life!  Whether it’s officially teaching lessons or just teaching by example, pass down your love for music.  You may be inspiring the next great composer or famous musician!

So there you have it: 10 ways to use your music for God’s glory!  Before closing, I would like to point out a few things.

First, this post is geared toward those who play instruments, sing, or are musical in some way.  Although I’m sorry that this post does not speak specifically to those who do not play an instrument or sing, I hope that you were still inspired by something in this post!

Second, I know that several of my blog readers have different music standards, preferences, and convictions than I do.  That is OK.  I have written this article in light of my own musical convictions, but if you have different convictions, please do NOT think that you cannot use your music to glorify God in any of the above listed ways!  Prayerful consider how you can use your music to glorify the Lord according to your own personal convictions!

And for ALL of you musicians: I hope you’ve found a few new ways to glorify the Lord through your musical abilities! :)  

Keep using your talents for HIM!