Anyone who knows me well knows that I am fluent in “Christianese“—that language Christians speak when referring to or describing all things related to their faith. Having married into a family whose members all speak multiple languages, I have learned that the best way to learn a new language is full immersion, leading to understanding by necessity.

One of the most intriguing things perhaps about language is the use of slang. These words or phrases only make sense contextually, and often only in cultures specific to a particular language, very similar to the use of idiomatic expressions.

Having grown up in a primarily Christian environment, I learned scriptural language but was given little understanding of the biblical context for many of the things I said, heard and sang.

In 2009, I was already on staff and a worship leader and prophetic singer by occupation at the International House of Prayer. Or so I thought. I was invited to join the NightWatch for a season—the midnight to 6am watch in the Global Prayer Room. While it was a very real struggle to switch my body clock to working nights, it was even more of a struggle to sing prophetically because I didn’t know what that meant. Another worship leader in the NightWatch invited me to join their well-established team and gave me this encouraging pep talk:

Leader: I want you to ONLY sing the Bible. Sing the Bible to describe the Bible. Not your opinion. Not your diary or poetry. If it isn’t in the Bible, don’t sing it.

Me: But I ALWAYS sing the Bible.

Leader: No you don’t. I’ve heard you.

I assumed that singing biblical concepts, and having biblical language was the same as singing the Bible. In that new season for me, I was overwhelmed to discover so many verses like:

“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.” Psalm 96:1

“Sing to him a new song. Play skillfully with a shout of joy!” Psalm 33:3

“Praise you the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song . . . ” Psalm 149:1

It was a church-boy assumption that verses like this were primarily for Old Testament minstrels and singers, and that this concept of singing the new song wasn’t mostly for today. Until I discovered verses like:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs . . .” Colossians 3:16

“And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals . . .’” Revelation 5:9

“And they sang a new song before the throne . . .” Revelation 14:3

I came to realize through time, prayer and experience that the “new song” wasn’t a new genre or new melodies, or even new sounds that had not been heard before. But, in fact, the new song was and is the old song. Its foundation is the wisdom that only comes from God (Ephesians 1:17-19)—the knowledge of God.

It’s not that God reveals new things about His character or person, so much as it is that our eyes are opened to see Him for who He is, causing our hearts to sing to Him about Him. This alone is our biblical model for the release of the new song in the earth.

THE ETERNALITY OF SINGING THE WORD

The beauty of having this understanding and perspective is that when we sing the Word, then and then alone, do we pass through the dimension of the temporal into the realm of the eternal. I often say, “The eternal reality for every believer is that we will be gathered around the throne of God, singing to Him of His beauty and worth FOREVER!”

This is modeled so clearly for us in Revelation 4 and 5. There, we see a host of angels and elders around the throne, singing. But personally I am more intrigued by these four living creatures. They are described as having “eyes all around and within.” Why so many eyes? I believe it’s because there is more to see about God than our eyes can contain.

As a songwriter, I have purposed in my heart that I want to be one who writes “eternal songs,” ones that not only outlive my generation but ones that are and will be sung around the throne. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s wrong to sing from our own experiences, but even David as the great psalmist understood that singing about God toGod was an eternal value amid his very real troubles. (Psalm 3:1-2)

Singing the Word will most certainly change our perspective, and gives us the dignity of entering into the reality of eternity now. So my question to you is, What song are YOU singing?

- Jaye Thomas, Director, Forerunner Music Academy, IHOPU Jaye Thomas is a Dove Award-nominated singer, songwriter, and worship leader of more than twenty-three years. Jaye comes from a long lineage of musicians and singers, including his aunt, the late Nina Simone. Originally from North Carolina, Jaye comes to Forerunner Music Academy as a former Brightleaf Music Scholar at Duke University (1996), having studied vocal jazz performance under the late Dr. Steve Zegree. He has been a full-time worship leader at the International House of Prayer for nearly ten years and is an artist on the Forerunner Music record label. He has contributed to more than twenty albums, including two of his own, Higher, and Here is My Worship. Jaye is married to Nayomi and a father to their three children, Mahan, Justice, and Addison.