My Journey with Church Music // Preparing Through Prayer

Have you ever been so nervous that you can hardly form your thoughts into a coherent prayer?  There have been many times when I have wanted to pray before a performance or offertory, but my thoughts are spinning so wildly that I can hardly focus enough to pray everything I want to pray.  Can you relate?

  For example, I always want to pray, “Lord, help me do my very best,” but sometimes I am so nervous that I just repeat that line for my entire prayer.  Although there’s nothing wrong with that, I have several other prayer points I want to pray before I perform.  Things such as…

“Lord, be glorified.”

“Let them see Christ in me.”

“Please bless someone in a special way through my playing.”

“Help me get through this piece.  Guide my hands and keep my mind sharp.”

  I’m not usually the biggest fan of scripted prayers, but when it comes to performance, I think a repetitive, memorized prayer can be very helpful.  That way it is easier to remember what to pray for.  Following is an example of a prayer for this purpose.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for giving me the ability and opportunity to play this music.  Please calm my nerves, guide my hands, and help me do my very best.  Help me express this music in a way that will touch others’ hearts and draw them closer to You.  Keep me humble, no matter what happens.  May you receive all the honor and glory!  Amen.

  I’d encourage you to write out your own personalized prayer similar to the one above; or, if you’d like, you may use the one I provided.  Whatever you decide to do, make sure the words truly reflect your own heart.  For non-musical people, you can write out a unique prayer to use for whatever gift you have.

  I would also encourage you to prepare for performance by praying in advance.  If I’m playing for a Sunday morning service, I try to pray while I’m getting ready for church. 

  You may ask, why all the seriousness leading up to a short and seemingly insignificant "performance"?  I’ll tell you why: serving God is something that should never be taken lightly.  God can work in mighty ways even through the littlest things.  The fact that you are about to serve Him in a public way is a very serious matter.  He could use YOU to bless someone, draw people closer to Himself, or even convict the unsaved of their need for a Savior!  I can’t stress how important it is to be in prayer before you serve God in a public way (or in any way, for that matter).  James 5:16b says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”  Preparing through prayer is the most important way you can prepare for something!

I’d love to know...

What importance do you believe prayer holds in the process of preparation?

How do you prepare your heart for serving God?