I was driving with a friend through South America when we came to a street market in a small town. One trader was selling orange T-shirts for $5 bearing the text “Son, your sins are forgiven”. We bought two, but as we moved on my travelling companion was a little upset to find that his shirt actually said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you”!
Then I woke up.
Still reeling from such a bizarre dream I looked up the quotes in the Bible and was surprised to find they both came from Matthew, chapter 9 (And no, I hadn’t been reading it the night before). Sitting on my bed I began to sing out the phrases and finished the song in a few hours (Maybe I didn’t have to go to work that day). I sung it once publically during a prayer ministry training session at my Church & then put it away forever.
A few years later, playing it as a warm up for a songwriting session I got some fresh inspiration on how to make more singable and even out some of the odd lines. When my church leaders did a sermon series on healing we sang it several times during prayer ministry.
Reflecting on the verses it was interesting to me that lots of people in the crowds must have been touching Jesus but only one was healed. Why? Perhaps her touch was “combined with faith” as it says in Hebrews 4:2.
The Hem of His Garment by Stephen Gjertson
As well as the subject matter the song is unusual in that it is sung in the first person from God to us. I can think of only a handful of other worship songs that are written in this form:
How Firm a Foundation (vv.2-6)
Be Still and Know
I, the Lord of Sea and Sky
And…er…
Lord of the Dance (…maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all!)
Can you think of any others that have been popular or well used?
What other songs work well during a ministry time?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.