It’s all about connection (Part 1 – The heart song)

How do we connect with God?

The textbook answer would be through prayer. But prayer can be ritualistic and somewhat empty. (I don’t think this statement is heretical – I think it is honest – not all prayer is fruitful and connective and life-giving, after all Saints have bemoaned this in the past (hello – Dark Night of the Soul)). To connect involves something more (which can occur during prayer for sure) something that connects our spirit with the divine presence which is ultimately spiritual. Directing young people today to read ancient writers from contexts long changed so they can find a better understanding of God isn’t – I think- the most effective way to nurture connection. That’s an intellectual exercise which can certainly inform our sense of God but its not really stirring the soul.

Let me be frank – I do not subscribe to the charismatic variants or Pentecostal evangelicals that have you ‘speaking in tongues’ and ‘falling down in the spirit’, just a little disclaimer right now before you read the rest of this and wonder if I am actually Catholic (although fyi there is a branch of Catholicism that taps into this – I once went to their Easter camp and the music was phenomenal). I do think that connection is intrinsically personal and logically it has to be different for each individual so perhaps writing about connecting with God in general is pointless – but if my thoughts offer food for thought then it is time well spent.

Any stimulation that draws you inward to that indefinable sense within helps you to be open to connect with the divine presence, as long as it is connected to God and to you.

Prayers are often written by someone else – it becomes personal when you connect to the context. For example Christian music. This is something those pentacostals do so well. I’m actually going to refer to 3 specific songs by different organisations – which is going to make this lengthy but I feel it is important and each one touches on a different aspect of connection.

There is a song by Bethel music called ‘Raise a Hallelujah’. The most powerful version I have seen was a live version when Jonathon Messler explained how the song came to be written as a prayer. It was a response to a situation when a child’s life was in danger. It pulls on the heart strings. As a mother there is no greater fear than something happening to my child.

I raise a hallelujah in the presence of my enemy

I raise a hallelujah louder than the unbelief.

Hallelujah is a cry of joy and praise and I’m sure we all have moments when it feels like joy is far from the present and we wonder how we will ever get through. This is a defiant hope for a better tomorrow. For when it seems that there is no way forward ‘I raise a hallelujah’ says to me that I know that I am struggling but I also know there is something far greater that I can draw strength from. It’s not a fairy godmother approach where prayer brings an action from God, its more about us and the strength we need when we need it. It takes me back to one of the Psalms – Psalm 31 to be precise. David was in a bit of a pickle. His own son had turned against him, he was surrounded by enemies, his neighbours and friends wanted nothing to do with him and he was facing defeat. The odds were not in his favour. And yet, in this dire time he calls out to Yahweh and affirms his faith. He draws on that deep well. There are many translations but I do like the line ‘Have Courage and Take Heart’. It speaks of hope. And from hope comes courage. And it takes courage to ‘raise a hallelujah in the presence of my enemy’.

The second song is ‘The Blessing’ by Kari Jobe and Elevation Worship. I’ve always loved Celtic Blessings – not just Irish but lots of terrific Scottish ones as well. This song also has a narration at the start where Jobe explains how the song came to be, as a group effort, trying to ‘go in after the presence of God’. The resulting song is remarkably repetitive but incredibly effective. It draws on Scripture but it is the use of ‘Amen’ that really stands out to me. The Blessing is about God turning his face towards you, blessing you with grace. Who doesn’t want to be smiled upon by God? Then comes the Amen. Amen means so be it or I agree. It is in a way an acceptance of the blessing and also when thinking of the blessing going to others a sort of ‘please let it be’. Then as the song builds the words say:

‘May his favour be upon you and a thousand generations

And your family and your children and their children and their children

May his presence go before you, and behind you and beside you

All around you and within you he is with you

In the morning in the evening

In your coming and your going

In your weeping and rejoicing

He is for you.’

This is a prayer I think we can all tap into. Don’t we hold loved ones in our hearts and hope for them to be well. In this global age (especially now with covid) we seldom see those living in various corners of the globe. This song taps into that essential desire to not be alone (which we are not as God is with us in our ’coming and going’ and our ‘weeping and rejoicing’ which are essentially dichotomies and so constitute a whole), and into the desire of the heart for loved ones to be ok. The sung Amen is important as it is an act of will, it is like we are willing it to be.

The third song is one of my all-time favourites. I’m going to give a plug to the music department at St Paul’s College who, with vocalist Joanna D’Angelo have done amazing renditions of this song. Oceans (where feet may fail) by Hillsong. The title straight away takes me to St Peter trying to walk on the water with Jesus and only lasting a second before sinking. Again this is a long song (sorry-not sorry) with different sections and some amazing building. Additionally, the ocean for me is an image of the unfathomable which always connects me with God. I feel a certain sense of spiritual connectivity near water as there is so much I do not see and do not know. One of the lines ‘You call me out upon the waters’ reminds me that we all have something to do in this world – this can be challenging. Isn’t this often a lifelong struggle to find what our purpose is and then to actually do it. The song goes on to say ‘I am yours and you are mine’ – again this is that sense of being connected to the divine. My favourite part connects to this:

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the water, wherever you would call me.

Sometimes, when you feel a call to do something it is hard. It is frightening and sometimes goes against the current social norms, so do you do it? This prayer says that we can gain strength from the great infinite and do great things for the benefit of all.

All 3 songs offer hope and strength in difficult times (in different ways). This is – I think – the core of prayer today – in a world where secularism and materialism are dominant spiritual strength is what is most needed and essentially most radical.

So if  you are looking for food for thought or ways to connect with God – give contemporary Christian music a listen – it may take a while before you find one that speaks to you but once you do you can listen to it over and over again. 😊