"...Sister, do you have a song this morning?"
***
Singing around the piano. Trying hard to stay on key...groaning and grabbing our heads when the pianist misses that minor again - what's it for?
So we'll sound good in church? So we won't be embarrassed in front of nearly everyone we know? That's what it feels like sometimes; meaningless hours of throat-scraping torment that's only fun for the first five minutes...but we often overlook the importance of what we're doing.
The devil hates praise. God loves it - He inhabits the praises of His people. On the toughest days, imagine how awful it would make the devil feel; when he's tried to wreck your attitude and make your life miserable with everything he could - and you start singing praises to God.
I think there's a difference between singing and praising, too. Turning up the good ol' gospel tunes and howling at the top of your lungs in the van is awfully fun - God doesn't mind if you howl or not - but it depends on what you're doing it for. If you're doing it to warm God's heart and bless those around you; you're doing it right, it's praise.
When we girls walk onto the platform at church or take our seats behind the piano, what's our motive? From my observations, I think we've got it all wrong sometimes. We're not singing to show off. We're not singing (begrudgingly) because the pastor asked us to. We're not singing because we're hoping to get a pat on the back or a whole cache of compliments - we're singing to God. For God; giving whatever we can to Him.
There've been times when I've been so nervous about accompanying friends on a song ( in front of a large audience) until I realized who I was doing it for. God already knew me. He cared more about my heart wanting to bless Him than whether or not I remembered to hit B flat in the first chorus or not. So I just thought about Him. It helped. A lot.
Once, a little boy gave up his little lunch before a multitude. We all know what happened; God multiplied it many times over and blessed those around him - and those who heard about it for years and years afterward, too.
Give a bit of effort, give a bit of your talent, a bit of your time to God - not to the audience, necessarily, or to the song-leader, or to the pastor, or your friends sitting in the front row - to God. You may never know what a simple song on Sunday can do to help someone else.
