Pray Before You Play

Transcript included below…

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I believe that sometimes it’s important to pause and talk about the spiritual aspect of our guitar offerings, which we are called to present as acts of worship (on and off the platform). If we are worshiping with our guitar playing, it’s in response to a calling, because the Lord calls us to worship. 

And He who calls us to worship “will supply our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). 

But we need to align ourselves with His purposes through prayer, so that we can walk in step with Him in all aspects of our guitar playing. This includes solo practice, worship band practice, recording, any time we are holding our guitar, and even when we are not. 

Really, we are called to “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). 

I certainly want to do His will above my own, don’t you? But this doesn’t happen by accident. We need to intentionally pursue His will as we develop and offer our gifts. Much of this happens when we pray. 

Praying Before Solo Practice Time

For years of my guitar development, I had a sign on my wall that said “Pray Before You Play.” Each time I sat down to practice, this gentle reminder helped me cultivate the habit to pray. My prayer really set the tone for my practice time. It still does.

Just to be clear, my prayer before my practice time has always been brief, but very intentional. It’s not perfunctory; it’s not done by rote. I don’t say, “Lord, please bless my practice time.  Amen.” 

On the contrary, I pray things like, “Lord, thank you for these musical gifts you’ve entrusted to me. I know I will be held accountable for my stewardship of these talents. I want to play well, for Your glory alone, and I want to use this time well that you’ve given to me.

Grant me wisdom to know what I can focus on, and help me to maximize my efforts so as to practice efficiently…but please also give me Your joy as I discover what You would have me learn today.” 

Praying With Your Worship Team

In my years of leading worship from the guitar, I have always committed to praying before a worship team rehearsal, and also before the Sunday morning run-thru. It’s so important to commit our work to the Lord as we prepare to offer our gifts. This allows us to align our hearts with Him together, so that we can lead well. Also, if we are not in accord relationally and spiritually, our prayers may be hindered, and the people we serve will be affected. 

We need to keep short accounts with our teammates, walk in integrity, and prayerfully lay our worship offerings (including the preparation) at His feet as we prepare to lead God’s people in worship.

We may pray before or after sound check, but it’s vital that we pray before we begin rehearsing. Once in a while, something technical falls apart – the monitors stop working, the projection computer freezes, or the audio signal chain gets broken somehow.

When I’ve finally resorted to prayer, that tech challenge has either been solved, or the team has been given what they need to persevere through the challenge. I have grown in my walk with the Lord to where I go to prayer much more readily. 

Years ago, I was a guest worship leader at a church where the worship director (who was a very seasoned musician) gave me the responsibility of preparing and leading the team on a Sunday morning.  He played the piano to support this team I was leading.

When everyone had arrived and tuned up, I asked the rhetorical question, “Shall we pray?”  I expected everyone to nod in agreement, and to join me in committing the morning to the Lord. Instead, I was startled to hear the worship director say, “Nah, we’re good.  Let’s get on with the music.”

He wasn’t joking. I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe my ears. May this never happen in the heart of any worship musician, anywhere. 

We all need to pray, especially when we are preparing to lead others in worship. I’ll also add that asking another team member to pray (vocalists, instrumentalists, and tech crew) is a wonderful way of hearing their heart for the Lord as they speak. I’m often deeply humbled when I hear a fellow team member pray. 

If you’re like me, your life is pretty full. The time we have available to practice, whether solo or as a band, is limited. Let’s make that time count. Let’s commit our practice time to prayer, and watch what the Lord does to multiply our efforts.

Wrap-Up

Well, I know this was a shorter episode today, but I think it was important to be succinct on this matter.  If it has encouraged you, please let me know in the comments.

And don’t hesitate to like and especially to share this episode – and others – with people you know.  We’re coming up on a year of these episodes, and I’m hoping to bring more of these truths and the Lord’s Word to people through this unique avenue of discussion.

Thanks for reading/listening. I’ll see you next time.