This is my favorite song from Come Together. In particular when I pray to Jesus, one of my most consistent prayers has been to know Him more intimately. Paul captures that sentiment beautifully in his letter to the Philippians in chapter 3, verses 7 through 11; which Mac Powell from Third Day lists as his inspiration for the song "Nothing Compares".

"All of us must remember those words that Paul wrote when he said that nothing compares to the greatness, or 'priceless gain,' of knowing Christ Jesus. No matter what we could experience, gain, see, or know, nothing will ever even come close to the joy we have in a relationship with Jesus." --Mac Powell (Third Day)

God speaks to us in different ways and I find myself closest to Him in my times of prayer and reflection, especially with songs of praise and adoration like "Nothing Compares". I was a new believer when I first heard this song by Third Day and some other songs based on this same passage of scripture are "Knowing You" by Graham Kendrick and "I Want To Know You (In The Secret)" by Andy Park. For me, all of these songs reflect what's on my heart and my greatest desire as a follower of Jesus is to live out the Gospel and these songs all help me with my walk and challenge me to gain that "righteousness that comes from God and is by faith". During this Lenten season as we prepare our hearts for Good Friday and Easter, "I pray that we all may know the power of His resurrection and become like Him in His death".

Take a few minutes and reflect on this very powerful scripture. Philippians 3:7-11 (New International Version)

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ"the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead."

God is so amazing and we are blessed to be His followers, but our walk is not without challenges as Mac Powell captures extremely well in his lyrics to "Nothing Compares".

I've heard all the stories, I've seen all the signs
Witnessed all the glory, Tasted all that's fine

Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You, Lord
Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing You, Lord

I see all the people, Wasting all their time
Building up their riches, For a life that's fine

I find myself just living for today
'Cause I don't know what tomorrow's gonna bring
So no matter if I rise or fall
I'll never be alone, oh no

Daily we are presented with the choices of how to use our time, lifestyle choices, pursuit of riches, living for today not knowing what tomorrow has in store for us and questioning our loneliness and looking for meaning. You can take comfort in knowing that "Nothing compares to the greatness of knowing Jesus".

One of my daily devotionals in trying to grow in my walk with Jesus is to sing to Him at least one praise song every day. I'll continue this series in a couple of weeks with some more examples of the songs that have helped me grow in my faith and become a more fully devoted follower of Jesus along with the story/scripture behind the songs. In the meantime, I suggest we all spend time with the Lord and try praying and singing along with this great song of praise and adoration.