Picture a child first learning to write their letters, their hand clasped by their parent or a teacher, gently guiding them as they trace out the shapes. Now picture a weary, battered Christian, barely able to utter a sound from their lips, let alone direct their hearts heavenwards, surrounded by people singing prayers of desperation to God. Let me suggest the two pictures are not so different.
Our singing in church is an act of community ‘teach[ing] and admonish[ing] with all wisdom’ (Col.3:16 NIV). It is a place where the weary and struggling can come and find help to keep going; where those with no struggles at all give voice to passionate prayers for aid, for the sake of their brothers and sisters who have little voice left to give.
