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Kate Simmonds

 

“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy … everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. … Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.” 1 Corinthians 14: 1, 3, 12

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ.” Ephesians 5:19-21

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Isaiah 61:1-3

Prophetic singing is clearly rooted in scripture; spiritual gifts may not be the ‘culture’ and practice of your church, however. It is a Biblical instruction to ‘eagerly desire’ the gifts of the Holy Spirit. If you feel the promptings of the Spirit to bring a song in worship from time to time, and this is not the current practice of your church, it would be helpful to discuss this with your pastor before you feel prompted to launch out on a Sunday morning. It’s best to function in an environment of good communication and mutual trust.

Prophetic songs can be very powerful, can ‘unlock’ situations for people, can bring fresh revelation from God, or can highlight a particular way in which God wants to work in that service.

Learn to recognise the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Timing is key in bringing contributions – don’t rush in too early, and also keep listening to what is happening in the rest of the meeting, rather than focusing on ‘shall I?’ Your contribution will be much more effective when brought at the right time.

‘Let the word of God dwell in you richly’ – let the overflow of your heart be the Word of God, more than your own thoughts or feelings. True prophecy never contradicts scripture.

Stop when you’re done, even if it’s short! Don’t be repetitive, or feel you need to keep finding more when you’ve already ‘delivered the message’. People recognise the authentic, they also recognise long-winded meeting-hoggers!

Be humble enough to take feedback and correction – we all make mistakes, we all mature with experience and practice. But you’ve got to start somewhere, be brave! You can gain confidence in your worship times at home by singing out scripture from the Bible, especially from the Psalms.

If you do bring something on a Sunday, you might think you’ll finish and feel like you want to crawl into a hole – but it doesn’t have to be such a vulnerable thing to do. Remember the gifts are for the benefit of the whole body, and you are one part of that body bringing a contribution for the benefit of others. People will remember the contribution more than who brought it!

 

Source: www.katesimmonds.com