The Heart of the Worship Pianist
To Love Jesus and Lift Him High
As worship musicians, we have a lot to think about during a set: playing the right notes, staying with the band, reading chord charts, following cues from other musicians, adjusting the sound of our own instrument, and paying attention to what the Lord is doing in the room.
But there is something more important than executing a set perfectly or even following the leading of the Holy Spirit perfectly. It is our hearts.
More important than our instrument producing all the right notes is that our hearts love Jesus and lift Him high. 1 Corinthians 13:1 tells us that without love, our talents and giftings are nothing more than “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” Without a heart of genuine love for Jesus, our “worship” is nothing more to the Lord than the sound of a child banging on a piano.
As we worship at the piano – whether alone, or before thousands of people – we must have one focus and one heart posture: to love Jesus and lift Him high.
As David played his harp, his one desire was to love and magnify the Lord:
“Wake up, my heart! Wake up, O lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, among the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.” (Psalm 57:8-11)
When the Levites were chosen to worship the Lord in the Temple, they were given four responsibilities:
“The LORD has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him, and to lead the people in worship and present offerings to him.” (2 Chronicles 29:11)
In Revelation 4, we are given a detailed account of the worship in heaven:
“Day after day and night after night they [the four living beings] keep on saying, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty – the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.’ Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, ‘You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.” (Revelation 4:8-11)
As though this account were not enough for us to fall on our faces in worship for the rest of our lives, the next chapter continues:
“Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered. . . . He stepped forward and took the scroll from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. And when he took the scroll, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. And they sang a new song with these words:
‘You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.’
Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. And they sang in a mighty chorus: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered – to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.’
And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.’ And the four living beings said, ‘Amen!’ And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb.” (Revelation 5:6-14)
Jesus taught us to pray that His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). So how can we bring the worship of heaven here? What makes this worship acceptable to God? What principles can we apply to our own times of worship?
First, if we look at the accounts of David, the Levites, and the heavenly worship of Revelation, we notice that no one sang about their childhood, how their day was going, or how to defeat the giants in their lives. There might be a time and place for those songs, but songs that focus on ourselves instead of Jesus are not worship songs.
Second, David, the Levites, and the heavenly choirs had an audience of one. They didn’t sing or play for the approval of men. They sang for one – the One who is forever worthy of all of our worship. They didn’t choose songs that they liked; they chose songs that He liked. They didn’t show off their skill on their instruments; they magnified Jesus. They played and sang what He wanted to hear.
How can we apply these principles to our own worship as instrumentalists, singers, and worship leaders?
First, we must have a heart posture of humility. Worship is not about us. It was never about us. It isn’t about showcasing our skill, doing songs we like, or showing others how spiritual we are. Worship is only about Jesus: magnifying His name, singing and playing in a way that pleases Him, and giving Him all of the glory.
Second, as musicians, we must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Our playing should always support what He is doing. It should never be distracting, and it should never draw attention away from Jesus.
Third, we need to listen to the voice of the Spirit. As we worship, He will tell us what He wants to hear: Sing that again. Play it up an octave. Change the key. Go to a different song.
Fourth, we need to continually improve our skill so that the Holy Spirit can take us in even more directions. This involves learning how to play in every key, knowing chords, practicing accompaniment patterns, improvising, and learning songs by heart. As we improve our skill, we give the Holy Spirit the freedom to take us anywhere He desires.
The heart of the worship pianist is to love Jesus and lift Him high. As we lead others into His presence, let us do so with eyes and hearts lifted to the only One who is forever worthy of all of our worship.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.