The latest addition to the PureFlix.com platform is the modern day musical, “Divine Will.” The film actually wasn't even intended to include music, but the talented cast had voices too angelic to ignore. While music in a modern Christian film is still a growing genre, filmmakers such as Sight and Sound theatre and “Divine Will” creators, Ken and Christine Jones, remind us of the power of music and it’s ability to help us lift our hearts to God.
Here are 5 reasons music should be a regular part of your prayer life:Alessandro Brustenghi, the first religious brother with an exclusive record contract, said that “Music is like a key. We can open the door and we can enter in Heaven. And in Heaven, we are enriched by the music, and we can give this gift to all people.”
God wants us to feel his presence when we pray to him, but it’s sometimes hard to enter into that space. Music has the power to tap into our emotions and kindle our prayer so that we are not only praying with our minds, but our emotions as well.
There are countless books on the topic of what music does to the brain, but it doesn’t take a brain expert to know that music can help us feel a sense of awe. Or as Dr. Thomas Troeger, a professor at Yale University School of Divinity, said, “There is a dimension to life that is not fully knowable simply by our rational capacities. I love reason, I love science, but reason doesn’t explain to me what it feels like to kiss my wife.” In the same way, he explains, music can actually inspire an awe for God and for the fact that we can talk directly to the King of Kings Himself.
In a Desiring God article published last week, Pastor Matt Damico reminds us that not everyone comes to church or prayer with an heart ready to worship. Thinking of those that have no voice, he says,
“The sight and sound of God’s people singing is a powerful, stirring exhortation for struggling hearts to believe the truths they hear sung around them. The next Sunday you’re inclined to keep quiet, remember your neighbors and sing their song.”
Throughout the Bible, we see exhortations and examples of glorifying God with song. Here are just a few:
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." -Colossians 3:16 (KJV)
“I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.” -Psalms 9:2 (KJV)
“…be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;” -Ephesians 5:18-19 (KJV)
Augustine of Hippo once said, “when you sing you pray twice.” Don’t be afraid to sing together during family prayer, even if you feel your family isn’t musical. God is not interested in how good your voice sounds. He is more interested in your heart being close to His.
To check out the new musical “Divine Will,” visit PureFlix.com, and sign up for a free one-month trial.