I've been writing songs since I was eleven
years old. As I have always loved the creative process, songwriting
has been a very natural part of my life. Not natural in the sense
that every song I've written has been good, but natural in that
songwriting has been a very fulfilling way to express love and
worship to my God. In fact, I had been writing songs for over
fifteen years before I had any measure of what the world would
consider success.
My point is that I've been a songwriter longer than I've been anything else in my life-because I have a love for the process and creativity of writing, and a love for God. Some of my early songs are very precious to me, and they were certainly necessary to get me to the point where I was ready to write songs for a larger audience.
Every song we write has merit, even if God is the only one that ever hears it. Some songs are meant for just one moment. Others are meant to live for hundreds of years. Some songs are meant to touch just one heart. Others are meant to reach millions. But every one is worth the effort.
Songwriting has become a lifestyle for me. It's one of the most effective ways I have found to personally connect with God. Outside of my relationship with God, family and friends, it is probably the most precious gift in my life. Time and again, God has spoken to me through my own songs.
The privilege of seeing thousands of people being touched by God through a song I wrote is a feeling I hope I never get used to. I've heard stories of people singing my songs to loved ones as they took their last breath. It's almost impossible for me to comprehend someone being welcomed into eternity, before the throne of God-and the last thing they heard on earth was a song of praise God gave to me. I received an e-mail describing how the life of a suicidal teenager was literally saved through her hearing one of my songs. On my own I was powerless to save that life, but God wasn't. He used His power through a song to reach that particular teenager's heart.
I was recently part of a worship evangelism crusade in the Philippines. Ten thousand people gathered in a soccer field to hear songs of worship. When we gave the invitation, about three hundred people responded, praying to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. Being only minutes old in Christ, the first thing they did as new believers was to worship God in song. We all began to sing a tune I wrote titled "How Could I But Love You."
Hearing the sound of thousands of voices passionately worshiping God made me weep. And God made this all possible through a song that had started out as a simple, worshipful thought in my office one morning a few months before. It's an indescribable feeling.
Please know that I am not relating these stories to build myself up in your view, but in the hope that you will be inspired by the potential God places in every worship song. It is a privilege and joy to write worship songs. It is also hard work, with hours and hours spent writing plenty of songs that may never reach the potential you originally hoped for-or ending in songs that fail to reach a congregation. There can be disappointments and times of rejection. But I believe God has millions of songs in His hand that He's waiting to give out if we will just be faithful and make ourselves available.
© 2001 Tommy Walker
My point is that I've been a songwriter longer than I've been anything else in my life-because I have a love for the process and creativity of writing, and a love for God. Some of my early songs are very precious to me, and they were certainly necessary to get me to the point where I was ready to write songs for a larger audience.
Every song we write has merit, even if God is the only one that ever hears it. Some songs are meant for just one moment. Others are meant to live for hundreds of years. Some songs are meant to touch just one heart. Others are meant to reach millions. But every one is worth the effort.
Songwriting has become a lifestyle for me. It's one of the most effective ways I have found to personally connect with God. Outside of my relationship with God, family and friends, it is probably the most precious gift in my life. Time and again, God has spoken to me through my own songs.
The privilege of seeing thousands of people being touched by God through a song I wrote is a feeling I hope I never get used to. I've heard stories of people singing my songs to loved ones as they took their last breath. It's almost impossible for me to comprehend someone being welcomed into eternity, before the throne of God-and the last thing they heard on earth was a song of praise God gave to me. I received an e-mail describing how the life of a suicidal teenager was literally saved through her hearing one of my songs. On my own I was powerless to save that life, but God wasn't. He used His power through a song to reach that particular teenager's heart.
I was recently part of a worship evangelism crusade in the Philippines. Ten thousand people gathered in a soccer field to hear songs of worship. When we gave the invitation, about three hundred people responded, praying to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. Being only minutes old in Christ, the first thing they did as new believers was to worship God in song. We all began to sing a tune I wrote titled "How Could I But Love You."
Hearing the sound of thousands of voices passionately worshiping God made me weep. And God made this all possible through a song that had started out as a simple, worshipful thought in my office one morning a few months before. It's an indescribable feeling.
Please know that I am not relating these stories to build myself up in your view, but in the hope that you will be inspired by the potential God places in every worship song. It is a privilege and joy to write worship songs. It is also hard work, with hours and hours spent writing plenty of songs that may never reach the potential you originally hoped for-or ending in songs that fail to reach a congregation. There can be disappointments and times of rejection. But I believe God has millions of songs in His hand that He's waiting to give out if we will just be faithful and make ourselves available.
© 2001 Tommy Walker
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