3 Powerful Ways To Use Your Voice
I’m starting a four-part series within 3 Minute Thoughts on how to make worship a lifestyle, and today we’ll look at how to use our voice.
“I need wisdom and direction” is one of the most common requests I hear from people when I ask how I can pray for them. There are many reasons why people need direction, but here are a few:
– Unclear priorities.
– Fear of failure.
– Life transition.
– Comparison.
– No vision.
– Stuck.
Many people who deeply desire to follow Jesus and fulfill God’s purpose for their lives can still find themselves stuck in life (here’s how Jesus continues to pursue you when you feel lost or stuck in life). One of the most helpful ways to gain wisdom and direction from the Lord starts with cultivating a heart of worship.
So often, worship is synonymous with music. It’s been labeled as a genre or understood as a set of songs for a Sunday church service.
Cultivating a heart of worship starts with recognizing that God has created us with a voice to praise him.
Whether you’ve been gifted to sing or struggle to find the melody of a song, David reminds us to use our voice to praise. He writes,
“Sing to the Lord; praise his name. Each day, proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does” (Psalms 96:2-3).
Here are three ways to use our voices in worship:
1) Use your voice to respond to God’s goodness.
Throughout the Psalms, David and the other psalmists give us reasons to worship. We don’t worship because life is always good; we worship because God is always good. His mercies are new every morning. His faithful love endures through all generations.
Faith is built when we lift our voices to sing to the Lord and worship together.
2) Use your voice to proclaim God’s salvation to all nations.
One of the most effective ways to help another person become a growing follower of Jesus is to share how Jesus changed your own life. Write out the story of what Jesus saved you from and what he saved you for.
Testimonies of God’s salvation opens their heart to know Jesus personally.
3) Use your voice to tell everyone about God’s amazing works.
Sharing our accomplishments and achievements is human nature, but the drive for more is never satisfied. In humility, tell the stories of what God is doing in people’s lives. He gets the glory, and we get to be a part of it.
The Apostle Paul shows us the connection between the good news of Jesus and responding by using our voices. He writes,
“Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts” (Colossians 3:16).
The voice is a powerful instrument. It is personal, distinct, and used as a primary way to give worship to God (click here to learn more about the power of worship).
Consider your answer to these two questions as a point of reflection:
What is one way you could use your voice to cultivate a deeper heart of worship?
How could you use your voice to share what God has done?