There is a strong connection between worship and the Holy Spirit:
"And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart," Ephesians 5:18-19
Notice the connection between being filled with the Holy Spirit and the act of worshipping God through music. Songs of worship naturally flow from being filled with the Spirit. Another important observation to make is the contrast between the acts of the flesh and the act of worship - when a person is making melody to the Lord with all their heart, they are not giving strength to the sinful nature, having turned from their acts of debauchery. Thus the act of worship is an act of denying the self and mortifying the flesh.
Music reaches the spirit in a powerful way, for example David played the lyre to sooth Saul's troubled spirit:
"And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him." 1 Samuel 16:23
Music changes a person's demeanour, emotions, and attitude. Spirit filled music can also activate a greater awareness and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. Like the example of David ministering to Saul through his talent with the lyre, Spirit filled music contains words and even melodies that can liberate captive souls and set people free from emotional, spiritual or pyschological oppression. Worship is an act of healing in its own way.
Music is also connected to the revelatory work of the Holy Spirit, which explains why worship is so often connected to prayer events organised by churches:
"After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man." 1 Samuel 10:4-6
This event described in 1 Samuel is of the anointing of Saul as king over Israel. Samuel anointed Saul with a flask of oil. Olive oil was used in ancient Israel as a symbol of the anointing of God's Holy Spirit, known in Hebrew as the Ruach Hakodesh. Only the offices of Priest, Prophet or King were anointed by God with the Holy Spirit in ancient Israel. Saul was given instruction by Samuel to meet with a group of prophets, who were playing instruments and making music, and receive the Spirit of the Lord and the gift of prophesy. Here again we see a connection between music and the work of the Holy Spirit. These prophets were not playing music and prophesying separately, they were prophesying while making music simultaneously.
Every recorded event in which a person received the in-filling of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts is accompanied by signs of either tongues, praise or prophesy. All these signs are verbal and auditory in nature. The experiences of the early Christians in Acts link to Paul's instructions to the church at Ephesus to be filled with the Holy Spirit and make melody to the Lord.
Music is of God, music is encouraged by God, and music also transports us into the eternal Kingdom of God. John describes a vision he received in the book of Revelation of the throne room in Heaven, in which 4 Living Creatures and 24 Elders bowed down before Jesus and worshipped him:
"And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
Revelation 5:6-10
There is a majestic purity about Spirit-filled worship. God is worshipped in Heaven by the angelic beings of the spiritual realm. This heavenly worship echoes throughout eternity, and when believers enter into worship and express their praise and thanksgiving to God Almighty they too enter into this chorus. Just as the Kingdom of God reigns in the hearts of believers and manifests itself through the work and ministry of the Church here on earth; so too worship bridges heaven and earth, uniting them together in the heart and spirit of the believer. Worship is a manifestation of the state of the heart and spirit as instruments are tuned and played, creating melody and sound that vibrates in our ears. Thus worship is another manifestation of the very Kingdom of God itself, just as the Temple and the Holy of Holies were both earthly models of the Heavenly reality, reflections of the true Temple and Holy of Holies that Christ entered into after his ascension in his office as Great High Priest; so too the music we use to worship God is an earthly model of the music sung in Heaven.
Music is an important expression of my spirituality and my relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I encourage you to seek the heart of God and the power of the Holy Spirit through music.
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