Select Songs That Help to Pray

Can I select songs that help the congregation pray?

Based on the insights from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and other provided resources, selecting songs that help the congregation pray requires shifting your mindset from that of a "spiritual engineer" or "performer" to that of a pastoral planner.

When you view song selection as a pastoral task, your primary goal is not to create a musical mood, but to place the vocabulary of prayer onto the lips of your people.

Here is a guide on how to select songs that facilitate genuine prayer, rather than just musical participation.

1. Audit Your Setlist for Emotional Range

A common pitfall in modern worship is selecting songs that only reflect victory, joy, and triumph. While these are essential, they do not cover the full reality of your congregation's lives. To help people pray, you must provide them with words for the valleys as well as the mountaintops.

• The Diagnostic Question: Ask yourself, "Do we give people words to sing and speak not only when they are happy, but also when they endure life's hardships?".

• The Goal: Ensure your selection includes texts of lament, confession, and trust in the midst of suffering. If a congregant is grieving a loss or facing a crisis, do you have a song in the set that allows them to bring that pain to God honestly?

2. Prioritize Theological Depth Over Sentimentality

To help a congregation pray is to help the "Word of God dwell in them richly". Songs are the theology people take home with them; they are often more memorable than the sermon.

• The Filter: You must cultivate a "discerning mind" that is willing to say "no" to texts that are inaccurate, simplistic, or overly sentimental.

• The Test: Does this song merely describe a feeling, or does it articulate the truth of the Gospel? A song helps a congregation pray when it leads them to say, "Through that song, I confessed my sin to God," or "Through that song, I was able to praise God more truly," rather than simply, "That was a neat song".

3. Connect Song Selection to Pastoral Care

One of the most powerful ways to select songs that resonate as prayer is to bridge the gap between Sunday morning and the rest of the week.

• The Visitation Strategy: Consider the "Pastoral Visit" approach mentioned in the sources. If you or a pastor read a specific hymn or song text to someone who is sick or dying during the week, introduce that same text in corporate worship later that month.

• The Result: For the family in crisis, that song is no longer just music; it is a profound connection between their private pain and the public worship of the church. It becomes their prayer.

4. Choose Songs that complement the Sermon (Thematic Unity)

To facilitate a cohesive prayer experience, song selection should not be random.

• The Method: Create a master song list that includes the key and themes of every song. Work with the teaching pastor to pick songs and special music that complement the sermon theme.

• The Flow: When the sermon and the songs align, the music becomes a response to the Word. Reading Scripture that complements a song's message before playing it can also help ground the congregation, turning the song into a sung meditation on that scripture.

5. Know Your Congregation's "Prayer Language"

You cannot plan pastorally if you do not know the people. A "pastoral heart" knows the names, faces, and stories of the congregation.

• The Application: Select songs that resonate with the specific season your church is in. If the church is going through a transition, a song about God's faithfulness might be the prayer they need. If the community is comfortable with high liturgy, a modern adaptation of a creed might be appropriate. If they are a global community, singing a song from another continent reminds them they are part of the worldwide body of Christ.

Summary Checklist for Song Selection

Before finalizing your setlist, run your songs through this pastoral filter:

1. Does this song give voice to the voiceless? (Does it help the hurting pray?)

2. Is it true? (Does it allow the Word to dwell richly?)

3. Is it "us"? (Does it connect with the specific stories of this local body?)

4. Is it a response? (Does it help the congregation respond to God's revelation rather than just perform?)

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