Devotion 11/1, Sing to the Lord!

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.
Ephesians 5:19-20

Every time we are in our local churches singing corporately to God, think of the joy that gives Him, and the encouragement we get from each other as well! So listen to the words you are singing and what they mean and sing, sing from your heart and make a joyful noise to the Lord!
Spirit-filled Christians speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. I personally love all Christian music, traditional, gospel and contemporary as long as they are songs of thanks and praise. I love praising the Lord in song and reminding myself that all my blessings are from Him, He is always at my side.
God, as usual, wants our hearts centered on Him, so of course He desires that our songs of praise and worship to Him to be heart felt. He doesn’t want us to just robotically sing songs to Him out of ritual or habit. Instead we are to think about the message of the songs and hymns we are singing, and direct those thoughts to our precious Lord.
When the Spirit reigns in our lives, there is a deep sense of appreciation and gratitude to God that is continually present. So, we are thankful to Him not only for the good circumstances in life, but also the unpleasant ones. It is only through the Holy Spirit that we can give Him praise through the rough times in life. And the reason we can, is because we know that He is always with us (Hebrews 13:5), and that He has promised that all things will work out for our good when we follow Him (Romans 8:28).
Hearts full of thanks — that’s what makes for good singing! With Jesus as the source of our salvation and center of our future, how can we not sing! But singing is not just for us and God. God wants our songs to bless others. It is our ultimate spiritual talk.

O Lord my God, you are awesome and wondrous. Your works are magnificent and your deeds are beyond comprehension. May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart ever declare your praises. May my heart be filled with thanksgiving for all that you have done to save us from sin, shame, law, and death. You alone are worthy of my praise, my songs, and my life. In the holy name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Lord, I give thanks for those that You have blessed with the gifts to compose and write music that praise and give thanks to you and you alone. How beautiful is the body of Christ. Listen to the words, they will put your heart in a good Spirit for your day.