A Breath Offering: The Nature of Praise Through Singing
In Genesis chapter 2, we find the narrative that describes how God created man from the dust of the ground. From one of the most numerous substances in God’s creation, the most common of things, God formed man…that which would become the pinnacle of his creation He could have created man from the rarest and most special minerals, but instead he chose the humble origins of dust. However, what God does next was truly unique in all his creation. He bestowed upon man his own breath and gave him a living spirit and thus, LIFE. Within the fragile, withering vessel of our bodies, lives a spirit meant to return to God (Ecclesiastes 12:7).
The average person breathes in the equivalent of 13 pints of air every minute and takes approximately 17,000 breaths per day. Those breaths sustain our bodies and are critical to our circulatory system and when you consider the limitations of man, where he can exist, how high in the heavens he can go or how deep in the sea he can dive, they are all limitations related to our ability to breathe.
Our breath is significant! It is more than just the beginning of physical life, it is the origin of interactions with the people and the world around us. We can’t work without it, we can’t eat without it, we can’t talk to our families and friends without it…..and we can’t sing praises to God without it.
In the context of how God created man, have you ever thought about what it truly means to sing praises to God?
Singing can be defined as a graceful and intentional exhalation of our breath. Singing is not just something that accidentally comes out in the same way as talking. You have to prepare your body to sing. Vocal instructors will even spend a great deal of time instructing their students in proper breathing techniques. Breathing is very much an intentional act and one that often includes every ounce of our being….our heart, mind and spirit. When we praise God in song, we offer to God our love for him by gathering our heart, mind and soul through a very intentional and graceful expression of our breath as a pleasing sound to his ears. Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”
God delights in our sincere praise and in his delight he will rejoice with singing.