Our private prayer is not separate from public worship. They are part of the same live stream of Christian tradition. Like a current in that stream, music carries us along.
Music is always there to help us celebrate and give God glory. Song is prayer. Song teaches. Song survives. Song can carry us when we cannot carry ourselves. Songs, such as the chants of a Taize service, can revive us. There are songs, such as spirituals, that can lead us through lament.
Songs do not need to have words. It is just as easy to hum a familiar hymn as we tackle daily chores and we can be uplifted just the same.
God does not need you to be in tune—only attuned, attuned to the Presence.
Today we remember Teresa of Avila (Teresa de Jesus), teacher, renewer of the church (1582). This message was adapted from “Praying in Song” written by Jane Redmont that first appeared in the July/August 2010 issue of Lutheran Woman Today (now Gather) magazine.
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