Healing and Music
In 1 Samuel 16:14-23 we see that Saul was delivered from an evil spirit, “refreshed” and “made well” when David ministered to him on the harp. We don’t even know for sure if David sang anything; there’s no evidence that he did anything other than play at the time. This raises a couple of interesting questions, namely, why would David’s music cause Saul to be healed, and can we expect music to have such a part in healing ministry today under a better covenant than David had?
It is obvious that harp music in and of itself does not heal people. Otherwise, what few harp players there are (it’s not a particularly “in vogue” instrument) would make big money playing the harp to heal the sick. It is clear that the anointing on David made the difference. Although David was not king yet, he had already been anointed by Samuel and he had a strong anointing operating in his life. Thus, God used anointed music, played by an anointed musician, to minister healing to Saul.
There were singing prophets in the Old Testament, and when they sang, the anointing fell on Saul. Here is the account in 1 Samuel 10:5-6: “After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them: and they shall prophesy: And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.” This came to pass in verse 10 of that chapter: “And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.”
Music was instrumental in bringing other manifestations of God as well as healing. Jehoshaphat’s praisers went before the army and defeated the enemy just by praising God.
2 Chronicles 20:21-23:
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
Then in Solomon’s temple, when the musicians played in one accord, the “glory cloud” came in and at first the ministers could not stand up. Later they could even make their way into the room because the anointing was so strong. That should provoke you to expect great things from anointed music today, given that our new covenant has been declared more glorious than the old covenant (see 2 Corinthians 3:7-11)!
However, no Scripture in the New Testament directly links music and healing. Jesus did not bring a worship team or even a special-music singer with Him, and He got along just fine, as did Peter, Paul, Philip, and others who had no musicians with them. It’s the anointing, not music, that destroys the yoke of bondage in people’s lives. Good music is a real blessing, no music still works and bad music is a real hindrance – especially if you’re trying to preach faith after someone else gets up and croons that his clothes are not new, he doesn’t have much money, he’s content with a cottage below, he’s spending just a few more weary days until he flies away, God gives and takes away, he’ll take pain and rain instead of pleasure and sunshine if that’s what it takes for his will to break, his trials come to make him strong, he’s only human, he’s just a man, he’s weak and poor, he’s so unworthy, so undeserving, etc. ad nauseam).
I’m a musician myself and I don’t want you to develop a doctrine on my experience, but I have seen people healed when I was just singing and playing the piano, or even just playing the piano. I usually wasn’t expecting it at the time; it just happened. Why did the anointing get on people like that through the music? I don’t know, but I'm not complaining! I would say that God will use whatever you have to offer Him for His honor and glory, and that includes musical talent. Other ministers out there have had similar experiences when they ministered in music. It is not the music itself, but rather the anointing on the musician, that makes the difference.
Now some musicians get swelled heads and think they’re the main people God uses today and that they’re actually more important than the preacher. Just remember that Jesus and His followers got all their results without any music! You don’t need music to have miracles. The early church preachers did not have music ministries, synchronized laser shows that flash to the beat, fog machines, altar calls as we know them, church buildings and building funds, Sunday School classes, greeters, and many other modern church trappings. When it comes down to it, it’s the anointing that matters. If you have everything else without the anointing, people will still not be set free. So above all, expect the anointing to manifest, and be ready to flow whichever way the Holy Spirit wants to move in that particular service.
If you are in a position to play music at a healing service, you should be aware of some things. One minister put it well: “Half of flowing in the anointing is paying attention!” That should be self-explanatory. Don’t get off in the ozone with God on the platform; you are ministering to the people as well as to the Lord. What songs should you play? Whatever the minister asks for! Some like fast songs, some like worshipful songs, some like run-the-aisles-and-swing-from-the-rafters music and some like soft instrumental music. Some prefer their own music, and some don’t even like to have any music at all because they find it distracting or they’ve had bad experiences with people getting up and singing that their trials only come to make them strong after the preacher just preached faith. If you cooperate with the minister, you will make him more comfortable and thus more able to flow in his anointing. No songs are right or wrong as long as they’re Christian and not flaky or anything. Don’t get personally offended about song choices. You’re there to serve! Come ready to “go with the flow.” The only sure way to learn these things is to do them and learn from others, as well as from your own mistakes. Also, as you work with different ministers, you get used to what they like and don’t like, and it gets easier. There is no one way to do things; different preachers like very different things and God is OK with all kinds of different styles of music.
(I don’t believe that any particular kind of music is “of the devil,” but some lyrics certainly are, including the ones to some “Christian” songs!)
The goal is to lead people (not lecture them or browbeat them) into worship and have a reverent atmosphere where the Lord is glorified. This will make it easier for the gifts of the Spirit to flow, because the gifts of the Spirit exalt Jesus (if they’re genuine manifestations). If everyone is already exalting Jesus, you won’t have to change gears to have the gifts of the Spirit operate. You’ll just transition from one way of exalting Jesus to another.
The best ways to flow effectively in music are to (1) practice and (2) live a lifestyle of praise and worship when you’re not in a service. Then it can come from your heart instead of being a big show that you put on at church. The anointing will not leave just because you hit a wrong note. Actually, it won’t leave by itself if you hit a whole lot of wrong notes, but what happens is that the people get distracted and they stop hooking up with the music, and the flow stops – hence the need to practice! However, it’s possible to be such a technical perfectionist that you go to pieces if you flub a note – you need to avoid being like that. This is not a TV talent show with judges looking for every possible blemish in your performance so that they can eliminate you instead of the next contestant.
Having said that, I know musicians including myself and my wife who used to be just plain awful singers, but we both gave what we had to the Lord because we sensed that He wanted us to sing. God multiplied our talent as things went along and I found that I could hit notes I never used to be able to hit, both higher and lower. I ended up leading worship at regional campmeetings. I used to travel with a man whose neck injury led the doctors to say that he would never speak above a whisper again, but he sang for the Lord and ended up selling albums featuring his big booming voice. My wife sang high notes painfully flat, but she doesn’t do that anymore even though no one (other than maybe God) gave her voice lessons. God is good at multiplying what you give Him – consider what He was able to do on a couple occasions with a few loaves and fishes!
Music done well can be a tremendous blessing to a speaker who is unsure about which way to go in a service. As happened with Elisha, as the musician plays, the power of God can come on the minister and he can get clear direction. (See 2 Kings 3:14-15.) You should expect this sort of thing to happen. On the other hand, music poorly done is the shortcut to ruining an entire service. I’ve seen both. Another purely natural benefit of music is that it can keep the flow of the service going while the minister takes a mini time-out to seek God about what to do next (or in one case, an emergency run to the bathroom). I’ve provided this service for other speakers over the years.
Just as another general remark, if Christian singers would get into the habit of actually saying something in their music, such as the facts that Jesus took our sicknesses and that we’re healed by His stripes, it would help people get healed, because a lot of Christians listen to Christian music. Too much Christian music is based on the premise that you can maximize music sales by not offending anyone of any denomination when you only say, “God is a really cool Dad, Yeah, Yeah” or “God brought me through the rain,” (in the apparently-mandatory Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus format). You can sell out arenas on your tour promoting your new album “I’m Your Friend, I Won’t Offend,” featuring positive, uplifting, tunes to play on the local “positive” music station, such as “God is Neat,” “The Christian Life Is a Party,” “Everything is Wonderful,” “God’s Touchy-Feely Love,” “Non-Stop Elation,” and “Jesus, I Love You Because You Make Me Feel Good,” while sneaking in only one or two serious songs (with hard-hitting warnings against jaywalking and littering) along with some “crossover” songs, that is, songs where talking about the cross is over and it’s impossible to tell whether you’re addressing God or your latest heartthrob.
In short, music can really enhance the anointing and keep the right atmosphere in the service or it can destroy the service. But the gifts of the Spirit can operate without it, so don’t blow it out of proportion.