I really believe and am grateful for the fact that God delights in the song of the heart and that the song of the righteous is a prayer unto Him. I don’t really have the prayer thing figured out yet, but I feel a degree of that communion when I sing or listen to hymns and other church music. I can’t express my feelings well in conversation, but I identify with the second verse of There is Sunshine in My Soul Today: There is music in my soul today, a carol to my King, and Jesus listening can hear, the songs I cannot sing.

I’m no poetry expert but I think the language in the hymns is incredibly poetic. Phrases like truth’s sublime effulgent rays or my friendship’s utmost zeal to try or the dove of peace sings in my heart – and I could go on and on and on – are just so eloquent and expressive how I think or feel.

When I read or sing the hymns I am able to express my most heartfelt beliefs and desires, my feelings about the gospel, my gratitude for friends and family, etc. and I know that God hears those expressions directly, without any of the limitations of my mental or verbal communication.