Above all, I absolutely must still remember that this music is what God has given me to do and to write. It’s almost as if, there’s the music out there that other people have created, and then there’s my own personal library of music that sounds kind of like that which already exists in the public sphere, but has never been heard before by others (or a very select few, since I have shared some of my stuff with a few people I’m close with). The point is, this is one of God’s gifts to me, and I am very grateful for it and to be able to do it. I made the mistake last decade of getting into a habit of calling it “my” music (and the people that were in my life certainly referred to it as such as well!). I’m privileged to be able to put my name on the top-right corner of the first page of each piece. But I cannot hog the glory; it all belongs to Him.
I’ve been in an era of writing one genre of music almost exclusively for the last five or six years. It’s been great and has yielded a high output (at least, far higher than any previous season). But I’ve also neglected other genres that God has placed on my heart over the years. One of my goals is to set as much of Scripture to music as I can. I’ve done it a little bit, but not a whole lot. It’s time to do more, as God permits and leads.
One of the ways He has been putting it on my heart is, when I read through my daily Bible readings, sometimes I’ve come across portions of Scripture that need to be set to music. Sometimes, this part of the inspiration will come where I have a central Scriptural focus, but I’ll also have other Scriptures from other parts of the Bible that also apply. That’s the case with the text here below. This post is meant to be a bookmark: a place I can come back to more easily than not and, when the time is right to put pencil to paper and begin writing, the text will be waiting for me.
Anthem Title: Ask With Faith
Expected ensemble: SATB with pipe organ
Expected lyrics below:
Refrain
Anthem Title: Ask With Faith
Expected ensemble: SATB with pipe organ
Expected lyrics below:
Refrain
““Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”Matthew 7:7-8 NKJV
Verse 1
“Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”Matthew 7:9-12 NKJV
Refrain
““Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”Matthew 7:7-8 NKJV
Verse 2
“Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.””Mark 9:23 NKJV
“So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”Mark 11:22-24 NKJV
Refrain
““Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”Matthew 7:7-8 NKJV
Verse 3
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”James 1:2-8 NKJV
Refrain
““Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”Matthew 7:7-8 NKJV
Verse 4
“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.””Mark 16:15-18 NKJV
Refrain
““Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”Matthew 7:7-8 NKJV