Six Must Have Songs on Your Playlist

If you’re looking to refresh your playlist, we have a few suggestions here that we think you should pay attention to. Whether you’re looking for something melodious to aid your meditation or something upbeat to move your feet to, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a list of six songs that we’re sure you’re going to be listening on repeat in no time.

Is He Worthy? – Chris Tomlin

First up is Chris Tomlin, a Grammy award-winning singer who has become a familiar face in the Christian music industry. Many of Tomlin’s songs centre around hope in God during difficult times.  The songs are to remind people that deep joy comes from the hope that we have in God that cannot be taken away by cancer, economic hardships, or any of those things, he says. In the song “Is He Worthy?” the essence of the liturgy – where there are the priest/pastor and congregation parts – is captured. The song, which is based on Revelation 5, repeatedly asks is anyone worthy of blessing, honour, and glory. In the climax, we hear a resounding answer, Yes! The song raises the listeners’ heart in worship as we reaffirm what we believe again and again.

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A Future Not My Own – Matt Maher

It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that Matt Maher’s music is out of this world; NASA astronauts have taken Maher’s music to space three times. OK, bad jokes aside, Maher is a prolific singer and songwriter, who’s not only produced his own chart-topping hits but has also written songs for many big names. “A Future Not My Own” is a song about surrendering to God’s grace in our daily efforts. It is inspired by a beautiful prayer titled “A Step Along the Way” also known as St Oscar Romero’s prayer. The words of the prayer say that what we do may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. The prayer ends with the line: “We are prophets of a future not our own”. “I decided to write a song based on what would happen if somebody read that prayer. What would their response be? The song became a response to the prayer, ‘God, I need a future not my own,’” says Maher.

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Still Rolling Stones – Lauren Daigle

Lauren Daigle has been making waves not only in the Christian music industry, her songs have cut across genres and is often heard on mainstream music stations. Although relatively new in the scene, she has raked in two Grammy awards and amassed a large following owing to her unique voice. Of her music, Daigle says, “I hope that as these songs hit peoples’ ears, they don’t hear my voice, they don’t hear really good production, so they can say, ‘Whoa Lord, I’m encountering you right now,’” Her latest release ‘Still Rolling Stones’ has a wonderfully upbeat and infectious tune and is all about the redemptive power of Jesus. The song is a reminder that no matter how vile, evil, shameful or horrific our stones of sins may be, and no matter how enveloped in darkness they may be, Jesus’ restorative power brings us alive and rolls those stones away.

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You Love Me Anyway – Sidewalk Prophets

I am the thorn in your crown, But you love me anyway / I am the sweat from your brow, But you love me anyway / I am the nail in your wrist, But you love me anyway / I am Judas’ kiss, But you love me anyway

In “You Love Me Anyway”, we hear that despite our worst failures and resistance to God’s will, he chooses to love us, surrendering his life to pay for our errors. This song is by the band Sidewalk Prophets, a name which means that they are common people speaking the truth about life from their perspective as followers of Christ. “Finding our identity in Christ is one of the most crucial steps in loving others. Once people start realising this and living confidently, we’ll see a visible change from households to communities to ultimately the world,” they share. Couldn’t agree more with this!

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Wounded Healer – Audrey Assad

Audrey Assad’s beautiful songs are truly a delight to the ears and an invitation to prayer. She aptly calls the music she releases “soundtracks for prayer”. Consisting of both well-loved hymns crafted in her unique style as well as original compositions, most of Assad’s songs are written in a way that emphasizes being sung to God rather than about God. She explains that “Wounded Healer” is partly inspired by a book by Henri Nouwen of the same name. “I heard the term first from him and fell in love with the idea that Jesus rose from the dead still bearing his wounds and went to heaven with a wounded body. If we believe that Jesus is the fullest revelation of who God is and who God has always been, then his wounded body is significant because it means that these wounds have always had a place in the heart of God: to be wounded, to be vulnerable, to be laid bare and to be open to love with all of its pain and rejection and all the risks that it has,” says Assad.

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The Heart of Worship – Matt Redman, Michael W. Smith

To end the list, we have the oldie but goodie, “Heart of Worship”. There is an interesting story behind how this song came about. Matt Redman, a worship leader in England, tells how his pastor taught his church the real meaning of worship. To show that worship is more than music, he banned all singing in their services for a period while they learned to worship in other ways. By the end of that time, Redman had written the classic song with these words:

When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come / Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart… / I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about you, Jesus

While Redman’s original song has been sung by many in various reinterpretations, Redman says he’s especially fond of Michael W. Smith’s, which is a live version and therefore really captures and conveys the heart of the song’s theme.

KA