When words aren’t enough, music speaks.
When you’re in a dry, difficult season, lyrics can fail you. But music can fill your soul.
If you’re a musician, you can play music like this. Don’t worry, it’s not as weird as you think.
I approach music like a preacher or pastor approaches communication.
Most of the time, a pastor prepares, practices, and performs a message. Other times, he or she delivers a spontaneous word that reaches someone’s heart in a special way. They follow the Holy Spirit in the moment.
Musicians, you can do this too.
It’s not about being weird.
It’s not about barking, gold dust, clouds of glory, or levitating on stage.
It’s simply about surrender.
Is God Speaking Through You?
God is speaking and He wants to speak through you. You just need to be available.
When I step behind the piano, I don’t let fear or nerves get the best of me. I stand confident in God’s authority and anointing on my life.
That’s not arrogance. Arrogance would be, “I’m the man, watch me rock the house.” Confidence is, “God is amazing. Watch Him work.”
I believe God has a message He is speaking through my life. I believe He has a message He is speaking through your life. Wherever you go, whenever you perform, God is reaching people. As a musician, It’s the adventure of your life.
There’s nothing better than to be used by the Holy Spirit to minister to people.
3 Tips For Creating Prophetic Music
I can think of a few tips for creating prophetic music:
1. Know Your Authority – Prophetic music start with knowing your authority in Christ. It’s not about arrogance. It’s about knowing you are called, anointed, and commissioned. It’s about confidence in the ability of God, not your own awesomeness.
2. Pursue Experimentation – Take risks with your music and your practice. The reason you practice hard is to prepare for when God decides to use you. You want to be ready for that moment. Experiment with unique sounds. Push yourself to develop. Everything you learn will shape your prophetic sound.
3. Interpret Truth – Oftentimes, when I play music, I’m thinking about an attribute of God, a Scripture, or a word from God. I interpret, through music, what I feel God is saying. Prophetic music doesn’t just flow through your fingers or your voice. It resonates deep within your soul and is an expression of who you are and what you believe.
I believe God wants to use your music in this way. Are you ready and willing?
Question: What are your thoughts on prophetic music? Has God used you in this capacity? Let us know in the comments!
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BOOM, that just happened, you are bringing it. Love it. Thank you, our generation of worshipers needs to understand this part of what we do so God can take his rightful place in his house and among his people.
M_
Thanks Marc!
Thanks for this post. It’s so right on and I have so many thoughts about it that I have wrestled with over the years. Because I was a musician before I knew the Lord, I have struggled with figuring out where good instrumental performance fits into ministry. I’ve come to believe just what you’ve said- that instrumental music can speak to people the same way a worship song with words can. As one of my band members was lying on literally his death bed a few years ago, he called me and asked me to “play what you play during the pastor’s prayer.” I was stunned and felt that same confidence that God is amazing and was obviously at work. I played for him at his bedside and let the Holy Spirit comfort him. I’ve never felt more useful and useless (in the sense that nothing I was doing in the ‘natural’ was important) in my life. It was humbling.
I have also experienced people (we all have) who complain about guitar solos or when the band plays and no one is singing, etc. That tends to shut us typically insecure musicians down and we lose the desire and will to experiment. But we need to. Desperately. Sometimes, when I have no words for prayer, I will just play, trusting the Spirit to interpret. I believe God works in me during those times to do the things you talk about in this post. It comes down to trust.
Some of what I hear you saying is also the idea that we shouldn’t be afraid to be good. Our band went through a Paul Baloche training DVD (those are so great) the other day and this Sunday we prayed intentionally that we would play well. Not for us, not for “watch me” but so that we would be an example straight out of 1 Chronicles 25. I believe that if more of us worship band members take that seriously, and do so humbly, God will produce amazing and surprising results.
What a great example, Joe. It also reminds me of when the King Saul called David in to play music for him. Calmed his spirit.
I agree, playing with excellence is important. But it’s only so God can use us more.
“But it’s only so God can use us more.” Aaaaaaaaaaamen.
And what a privilege it is.
This is one of the subjects about worship that for me too, can be a little disheartening.
When a really great song has an instrumental break that in the context of the song can speak to us as musicians (which we then convey spiritually to our congregations) and then the part gets cut. So many times it’s dismissed because there are no “stars” on the worship stage or they want to “cut down on time”. I think if leaders truly looked spiritually at how the music/song affected others in different ways maybe they could be shown the biblical perspective and may be less inclined to cut parts that can truly add a moment of reflection.
Yes God has used me in the prophetic as a minister of music on the flute. It was told that a couple had come to the church for the first time. They were about to leave until they heard the flute in the atmosphere prophesying then they decided to stay. They stayed for about 5 years then move on to their next assignment. Now he is ready to use me on the keyboard in the prophetic…this article truly gives insight on how to think about the prophetic, I was in prayer today on the way home and ask God to take me to the next level of the prophetic on the instruments….when I turned on my computer and looked for prophetic music, I saw your article. My answer is yes, I ready and willing for God to use me in the prophetic!!!!
I have struggled with the urging in my heart that His wants to use me to in the music ministry to birth revival in a strange way, but ibhave struggled with it because it’s m it what it’s obtainable today in worship ministry. Also the possiblity of a revival purely by instruments and probably a few lyrics seems like a long short due to the scarcity of marterials on the subject. But feel within my heart I see the possiblities. Could u pls enlighten a little. I really would appreciate it being sent as a mail.thanks
I am very inspired by your post on prophetic music.