The Heart of Worship – Story Behind the Song
In churches all over the world in multiple languages people sing “Heart of Worship” by Matt Redman. The song has become something that thousands of Christians feel they can relate to. It has an honest, open and plain tune to it that leaves nothing other than an opportunity to worship the Lord.
In the late 1990′s Matt Redman’s hometown church was having a dry spell with their praise and worship. The Soul Survivor church located in Watford, England decided to get rid of it’s high tech sound equipment for a season. Things had become so repetitious the members and leaders of the church were looking for something to spark the life back into the worship.
Matt Redman recalls “He decided (Pastor Mike Pilavachi) to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.” Mike Pilavachi asked those in the congregation, “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?”
Pastor Mike Pilavachi jokingly says he fired Redman “We needed to take drastic action. For a while, in order to truly learn this lesson, we banned the band. We fired Redman!” Pilavachi didn’t know what needed to be done, but was desperate to stop what he felt like what the judging of the worship going on. “In our hearts, we were giving the worship team grades on a scale from one to ten: ‘Not that song again,’ ‘I can’t hear the bass,’ ‘I like the way she sings better.’ We had made the band the performers of worship and ourselves the audience.”
Matt Redman stated that at first everyone in the church was hesitant but slowly began singing without the music to back it up. Heartfelt prayers began all over the church. Everything was stripped away. Redman remembers writing the song coming to him quickly in his bedroom.
The song was not meant to be a Christian anthem. Redman says the song was simply to explain what had happened personally to him. Pastor Pilavachi suggested a few word changes so that it would fit the members of the congregation and the song was born.
The song appeared on Matt Redman’s 1999 album “Heart of Worship”. Redman recalls the song was made to sound much like the scene in the church. Nothing fancy added, just an honest song of praise. Since the song’s release it has been rerecorded by numerous artists and sang in Churches all over the world.
The Soul Survivor church itself has spread as well as the song has. The church started in 1993 has spread to Canada, Holland, South Africa, Australia and The United States. You can learn this song in the ‘Jean Welles Worship Guitar Class’ Series.
List of Praise and Worship Songs
Hillsongs is one of the most popular Christian music groups that have travel all over the world to share their music. The group has released several albums and these are being sold in music stores in various countries. They have also done concerts that feature their praise and worship music and have toured several continents.
Hillsongs United has a combination of slow and fast-beat tracks that they have captured the hearts of Christians of all ages and of different denominations. However, the group is most popular to the younger generation because of their upbeat tracks that are better alternatives to the sometimes obscene pop dance music. Here are some of the most well-known songs that the group has sung.
Here I Am To Worship
Featuring the lyrics “Here I am to worship, Here I am to bow down,Here I am to say that You’re my God” this song acknowledges God’s power over everyone. This slow praise song can make a person hum as he or she listens to the song. The coda portion also has a very deep message especially for people who are asking for forgiveness and conversion. It says “I never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross… Call upon the name of the Lord and be saved,” repeatedly until the song ends.
King of Majesty
The song begins with the lines, “You know that I love You, You know that I want You.” The refrain plays, “King of majesty, I have one desire, is to be with You, my Lord,” and “Jesus, You are the Savior of my soul, and forever I give my praises to You.” Those who would like to praise God through hip tunes are surely taken by the great lyrics and arrangement of this song.
Now That You’re Near
This song has several arrangements, with the rock versions being one of the most popular. “Hold me in Your arms, never let me go, I want to spend my eternity with You,” says the refrain.
One Way
The chorus of this song has the lyrics, “One way, Jesus, You’re the only One that I could live for.” This is, perhaps one of the most popular songs of the group. This has sent a huge number of Christians all over the world jumping and dancing as they sing along with the song.
Because Hillsongs was able to combine the praise and worship with some of the elements of popular music, their songs continue to spread to more and more Christians. In the end, it is not about the singer, the composer and the song. It is about lifting the hearts of more and more people to God.