In January of this year (2023) the Lord was leading me to work on an album of original prayersongs tentatively titled Paths of Praise Christian Worship Songs.
Suddenly He interrupted that work which I was completely focused on and switched directions. He asked me to create an album of traditional hymns as a gift for His children.
When the Lord changes my focus on a project it completely humbles me. This is because I do not like to be interrupted in a creative work, preferring to start and finish a project in a linear way.
And I like to be in control of everything.
However, the Lord Jesus Christ likes to remind me that He is in control of my life.
He is my Good shepherd and is guiding me. He has a purpose for everything He does and even when it makes no sense to me, I must be obedient and walk by faith, even though I don’t understand why He asks me to do something.
The Lord knew and that was enough. It might be maddening, but I got on my knees and prayed to submit to His will and for grace to learn whatever songs He wanted me to put on the hymn album.
The Lord gave me no more grace to work on my Paths of Praise album even when I tried. He definitely wanted me to focus on a hymn album and learn all new songs ~traditional hymns~which seemed daunting as my energy was now strained by a severe flare up of my auto immune illness. There were many days where I could do no work. I seemed a prisoner. But this I knew, Christ was in me and He was in control.
The music is the Lord’s. I’m His servant. Christ is the One who asked me to sing and gave me this gift to exalt His name in the earth for His glory.
For while I still don’t understand why the Lord wanted to redirect my focus from working on my Paths of Praise Album to work on the hymn album, now I’m glad I did.
As for the choice of hymns, I asked Mark what his favorite hymns were growing up in the Methodist Church.
I grew up in the Roman Catholic Church where we sang different songs from the traditional hymns that the Protestants are familiar with.
I remembered the lovely hymns Mama sang to us as children; hymns she had learned as a child attending a Baptist Church.
I presented a collection before the Lord and asked Him to guide me to His will. While learning to sing the hymns, the Lord’s Garden album presented a great challenge. Jesus mercifully gave me the grace and strength to accomplish what He had put on my heart to do by faith.
He also wanted me to sing “…In Jesus Name” at the end of every hymn.
Some might object to this. It is difficult to imagine that a Christian would find fault except perhaps that some of Christ’s precious children might reject these traditional hymns not because they objected to the Lord’s Name, but because they preferred their beloved hymns to be sung in the familiar way that they have always heard them sung in church.
These precious children of God have every right to their preference.
Below are the scriptures that the Lord inspires and motivates me in all the songs He gives me to glorify and exalt Christ’s name now…
“…speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;”
Ephesians 5:19-20 NASB1995
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”
Colossians 3:17 KJV
The Lord has so strongly impressed upon my heart the importance to do all things to the glory of Christ’s name that I must do as He leads me.
Each of the redeemed are given a gift in Christ’s Kingdom that we might proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light…
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
1 Peter 2:9-10 NASB1995
“For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;”
2 Corinthians 4:5, 8-9 NASB1995
The Lord is shining in and through those who submit to His will! He desires to radiate His light through our weak, cracked vessels that He might be glorified through us. Paul wrote:
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;”
2 Corinthians 4:7 NASB1995
Malachi the prophet wrote that God would call those who loved and obeyed Him His jewels.
The Lord guides each of us to honor and exalt His name as we choose to walk in obedience to His will, eschewing the favor of humans and conformity to the culture so that we might please Christ no matter what our commitment to obey God’s will may cost us.
“Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name.
And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.”
Malachi 3:16-18 KJV
https://suzannedavisharden.hearnow.com/the-lords-garden-beloved-christian-hymns
Follow the above link to preview all of the traditional hymns featured on The Lord’s Garden Album! May the Lord use these hymns to comfort and bring joy and encourage those of you who find them a blessing. In Jesus’ Holy name, to whom all honor and glory belongs forever for redeeming our souls from sin. Amen.
Paths of Praise Christian Worship Prayersongs
I love to draw and paint, this is my natural gift…and if left to myself would do this all day. But now I also love to sing ever since the Lord has given me the gift of music to praise Him with. I don’t have the energy to do all things though.
The prayersongs from the Paths of Praise Worship Album all came between 2009-2023. Some are the first prayersongs the Lord ever gave me and I’m excited to be publishing them for the first time. I’ve shared those earliest songs over the years with friends who were suffering, or with my first voice teachers. Songs like Christ’s Joy, For The Mountains May Depart, Secret Place, Sacrifice of Praise, Victory Song, The Lord is My Light and My Salvation, God is For Me; these are some of my earliest prayersongs that the Lord ever gave me. Though they are very joyful songs, they came out of a time of intense spiritual suffering.
*Most of the other prayersongs were written in January of this year with the exception of God is My Refuge which was also one of the earliest Prayersongs.
However, the Lord had me rewrite it.
Be Led By My Spirit is one of my favorites on the Paths of Praise album.
I was sitting one day in the kitchen and the Holy Spirit just sang that song through me. He inspired me to promptly record it.
If I don’t obey that impulse the song will not be remembered.
We Stand Before The Lord, Lord Deliver Me, and Let the Light in Me Not Be Darkness are three published spontaneous spiritual songs that the Lord gave me…but there are many more that are not published.
Obedience to the Lord’s voice within is so important when following Him.
Hebrews 11 tells of the people that heard God’s voice and obeyed Him by faith. They did not wait till they understood why He was asking them to do what He wanted. They just obeyed.
Faith responds to the voice of the Holy Spirit in obedience without the need for explanation because it trusts God.
It loves God. It knows and fears God.
How does it know, love and fear God?
Because it has a habit of abiding in God and studying His word and obeying Him.
God doesn’t want or need perfect people because there are none.
He just needs people that have faith and will listen to Him and obey Him.
God is seeking souls who don’t care what other people think, but who care only what God thinks about them.
“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
Hebrews 11:6 NASB1995
Two things are for certain. You and I will die.
We will stand before Christ.
He will then ask us, “Did you obey My voice?”
How will we hear His voice if we are too busy listening to other people?
How do we hear Christ’s voice?
We start by studying His Word.
We read the Gospels. For ourselves. Not someone’s interpretation, book, or blog like this one, or commentary.
But we read the Gospels for ourselves and we go into our prayer closet and we get alone with Christ and pray to Him and ask Him to teach us and we pray to Him.
Christ has promised that His sheep can hear His voice.
He will speak to us. He will guide us. But we must have faith.
Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.””
John 10:27-30 NASB1995
The Lord Jesus Christ is alive, He is a real, risen Savior!
“He is a God we can come to know…” *Christ’s Joy Prayersong
Paths of Praise Christian Worship Songs, by Suzanne Davis Harden, Through the Indwelling Risen Lord Jesus Christ, Inspired by His Holy Spirit, To The Glory of God the Father, In Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen. Copyright © ℗ 2023, All Rights Reserved.
https://suzannedavisharden.hearnow.com/paths-of-praise-christian-worship-prayersongs
Follow the link above to preview the original worship prayersongs on Paths of Praise! May the Holy Lord Jesus Christ bless you, fill you with His love and peace and draw you closer to Him as you listen, In Jesus’ holy name, to whom all honor, praise, and worship belong, forever and ever, amen.
You! Thank You for saving us! In Jesus’ name amen.
A Garden and A Path of Praise, Peaceangelsong, Copyright © 2023, by Suzanne Davis Harden, All Rights Reserved.Accomplished Through the Indwelling Risen Lord Jesus Christ, Inspired by His Holy Spirit, To The Glory of God the Father, In Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen.The Lord’s Garden Beloved Christian Hymns ~Calming Vocals performed by Suzanne Davis Harden, Through the Indwelling Risen Lord Jesus Christ, Inspired by His Holy Spirit, To The Glory of God the Father, In Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen. Copyright © ℗ 2023, All Rights Reserved.Paths of Praise Christian Worship Prayersongs by Suzanne Davis Harden,Through the Indwelling Risen Lord Jesus Christ, Inspired by His Holy Spirit, To The Glory of God The Father, In Jesus Holy Name, Amen, Copyright © ℗ 2023, All Rights Reserved. /Original Collage Painting of Album Art, by Suzanne Davis Harden Through the Indwelling Risen Lord Jesus Christ, Inspired by His Holy Spirit, To The Glory of God the Father, In Jesus’ Holy Name, Amen. Copyright © 2023, All Rights Reserved. Scripture Quotes taken from the NASB1995 ( New American Standard Bible Copyright © The Lockman Foundation/ The King James Version Bible