Article for CBC Newsletter

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.
  He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.
 The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

                   Psalm 121:1-2

I memorized the first two verses of this psalm faster than any other verse I have ever memorized, except, of course, for “Jesus wept.” John 11:35.  That verse, should be indelibly written in every believer’s heart simply for the ease of memorization!  But, I digress.  How many of you have the first two verses (Psalm 121:1-2) memorized because of Casting Crowns’ song “Praise You in This Storm?”  The first time I heard that song I was in my car, and I held still, with tears in my eyes, breathless at the absolute worship evident in every lyric of that song.

There are a few elements about this song that I feel absolutely inspired (and daresay instructional!) for the Christian life.  This song uses scripture, directly and indirectly, lifted from the Bible.  The music directly reflects the urgency of the prayer.  And, lastly, it is honest.  Let’s take a closer look.

One of my absolute musts in leading worship in church is making sure that the lyrics reflect Scripture.  This is important for a variety of reasons, but mainly because every time our hearts are exposed to God’s Word, it hammers away at sin that remains in our lives.  “Praise You in This Storm” uses Psalm 121 as a starting point, directly quoting the first two verses in the bridge.  The bridge repeats these verses again, making it impossible for those words to not take root in the listener’s mind.  The chorus grant a further insight into Psalm 121; “You are who you are, no matter where I am.”  When I go back to study the Psalm, I realize that idea is woven through each verse, and I find it so comforting.

The worship team can attest to this, but my next favorite element in worship songs is how the music correlates to the words.  I love it when the music underlines it by sounding like what we are singing!  An example of this is “Our God” by Chris Tomlin.  The instrumentation pounds behind the lyrics, much like a battering ram pounding on a door.  I love that song because it reminds me that God’s doors cannot be broken down, and that we remain safe in God’s stronghold.  “Praise You in This Storm” does something similar, but not quite as obvious.  The music intensifies, and the beat gets stronger and stronger, I recognize that as the desperation behind the prayer.  The writer sees what is going on around him, and he is calling out, desperately, with urgency, for God to answer him. 

The third element is the writer’s honesty.  He so openly pours out his heart to God in the verses, using scripture, and at the same time, submits himself to God’s sovereignty.  It is such a beautiful example of prayer.  I find myself taking a lesson in how I communicate with our Savior.

In truth, I could go on and on, but there is a space allotment, and I will have to stop.  If you don’t know this song, I urge you to find it and listen to it.  And, if you have your own song that touches you like this song touches me, please find me and share it!  I am always looking, searching, for music that can spiritually bring me to my knees.