Worship Album Highlight: Prayers of the Saints (Live)

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Worship Album Highlight: Prayers of the Saints (Live)

Every so often, I like to introduce music to you that I think will be encouraging and helpful. The album I want to highlight today is an album by Sovereign Grace Music called, “Prayers of the Saints (Live)”. I realize that not everyone listens to “worship music” all the time. Personally, I listen to a lot of music for the church while I’m at work, so I like to add some variety to my listening. With that said, I have found myself increasingly turning to certain worship songs during critical moments of my life. When I spend time in the Word, a common response is to engage with a song that speaks to the truth I am reading about. There are also times of difficulty where a song can prove to be encouraging and helpful.

I believe “Prayers of the Saints (Live)” stands out among other worship albums. With so many worship albums being produced today, it is difficult to know which ones are worth spending your time on. Here are a couple reasons why I think you should check out “Prayers of the Saints (Live)”

1.    The theme of the album

The album title “Prayers of the Saints” comes from a phrase John uses in Revelation 5:8 and 8:4 to describe the prayer of God’s people for the punishment of the wicked, the deliverance of his people, and the vindication of God’s name. These may seem like some heavy topics, which they are, but they help speak to a theme that is often absent in a lot of worship music today: “the already and not yet”. What I mean by that is the tension that we feel that Satan is defeated and our sins are paid for, yet we are still waiting for the final return of Jesus where all things will be made new and death will finally be destroyed. Sin is still prevalent today and it seems like things are only getting worse. The waiting period we find ourself in is filled with emotions of celebration, joy, and victory, but also, lament, longing, grief, and anticipation. This album helps speak to all of this through songs such as “We Look to You” which says:

Deliver us from evil, Lord; the devil’s seeking to devour
With trembling heart we hear his roar, but Your strong arm will crush his pow’r

And the song. “When We See Your Face”

As day unfolds, I seek Your will in all of life’s demands
And though the tempter tries me still, I cling to Your commands
Let every effort of my life display the matchless worth of Christ
Make me a living sacrifice; be glorified today

I’m thankful that this album gives us words and expressions to help us on our journey as pilgrims longing for a greater home.

2.    It is saturated with Scripture

Another reason this album stands out is its emphasis on being filled with Scripture. Each song has been written with truths of Scripture as its foundation. And the songs don’t just have one verse to support it, they are saturated with Scripture. One great example of this is the song “All Praise To Him” which is filled with Scripture from the Creation account in Genesis, to the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 98:7-9, and Psalm 11:4-9, to verses on redemption and grace found in Romans 5:4-35 and Ephesians 1:13-14. On the Sovereign Grace website, there is a helpful resource that allows you to see all the Scripture used in each song.

3.    Quality of the music

When great truth is combined with great music, it creates something moving and powerful. Not only is this album filled with Scriptural truths, it is combined with quality music that serves the lyrics. The music gives right expression to the theme of each song. There are songs of celebration and adoration such as “He is Our God”, “All Creatures of Our God and King”, “All Praise to Him”, and then songs that rightly express lament and confession through moving melodic passages and chords progression such as “Forgiven”, and “Lord Have Mercy”. It’s also worthy to note that the production of the album is done with extreme excellence and makes it a joy to listen to.

4.    It’s Singable

I think the best and most distinguished feature of this album is that it is singable. The biggest issue with a lot of worship music out today is that while many songs may be powerful and moving, they aren’t always the best songs for the context of corporate worship, or even just signing in general. Every song in this album is very singable and is good for any congregation to easily pick up. I know this to be the case both in my own church context as well as in my family. My two year old knows every word to “O Lord, My Rock and My Redeemer” because it is singable and easy to memorize. My wife, who is not a musician, also easily sings to all of the songs. It is a great album because it is powerful and singable!


I hope this encourages you to check out this album. It has been an incredible blessing to my family, my church, and myself over the past couple of months, and I pray it will be an encouragement to you as well.

Brandon Hochstetler has been the Worship Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Grand Prairie, TX since August 2013. Brandon believes that worshipping God is so much more than just the instruments, singing, lights, and sound. Worship is simply about praising the name of Jesus and coming before him humbly.