Aaron Gillespie has played for several influential alternative rock bands: Underoath, The Almost and Paramore. His solo work includes his worship debut album Anthem Song, which featured "We Were Made for You," and his latest collection of worship songs, Grace Through The Wandering, comprised of mostly original material and a great cover of "Praise Him," written by The Royal Royal's Nathan and Gabriel Finochio.
 
The album is a beautiful collection of raw, intimate and thought-provoking songs intended to encourage, refresh and bring the listener's full attention to Jesus. The listener will leave with the reality of the beauty of God, and at the same time the desire for God to have an intimate relationship with each and every one of us. I had the great chance to interview Aaron about his stunning cover of "Praise Him." Here's what Aaron shared with me about the song.
 
Please describe the message behind recording this song.
 
This past summer I was on the road with Paramore playing drums, and we needed one more track for this record. I had been recording the album over six months while traveling all over the world to 15 different countries. Everyone went home, and the label called and said we were short one song, so we recorded this song on a two day break in Nashville. Then I was back on the road in this whirlwind process and I didn't have a lot of time, but looking back on it, I think it made the song the way it is, and I'm glad with how it turned out.
 
I've met Nathan and Gabriel from The Royal Royal before, and I always try to sing one to three cover songs on my worship albums, just so the Church can also sing along with these songs and be familiar with them. This was a great song that I've had on my radar to sing. I felt so good about this song when I first heard it, and it hadn't really caught on yet, so I wanted to record my own version of the song.
 
For me, the best music that I've ever been able to be part of feels like it reflects my heart. I tried to make this album in a way that is vertical in message but also can be something people can take and adopt as their own story. That's a big deal for me. Growing up and hearing albums that were mine was important to me. The more we make those types of albums as artists, the more people can connect with the songs.
 
We're fortunate that we live in a time where people are making great music and doing inventive things. There's a passage in 2nd Chronicles where the king looks over the edge of this hill and all his enemies are spread out over this valley. They're outnumbered by a crazy amount. He prays, "God if You don't go before us, there's no hope for this thing." The next move he makes is super interesting. He doesn't rally his men and do a workout or something, or some special military training with weapons. He sends out the worshipers first. As they go forward, they begin to worship God, and his enemies become extremely confused and they begin to slaughter each other. I think that is really interesting.
 
Which Bible verses connect with the message of the song?

Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV): "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
 
John 8:12 (NIV): When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
 
Philippians 2:10-11 (NIV): "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
 
Philippians 2:14-16 (NIV): "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing."
 
How can listeners apply these messages in their walks as Christians?
 
In worship a lot of times, we get confused with the order. We get wrapped up in what our church is doing, and we forget that if we worship God first, I believe that's where our hope is found, and that's where our victory is found. If you look at The Lord's Prayer, it doesn't say "give us this day our daily bread" first, it says "Our Father who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name." Holy be His Name. His Kingdom come, His will be done.
 
Order is an important thing in our Christian walks, and I believe we miss that a lot when we ask God for things and ask God to take us places and do things for us, whether it is financial, physical or motivational. People do that before looking at the reality of Scripture and Who God is. He is so massive and so Holy. We need to give Him praise. For me, that's what worship is about. It is our strongest ally. It is our strongest question asker. It is our strongest defense against the enemy.
 
A lot of times, we look at worship in just a congregational setting and we forget that worship is something that is in prayer, in life, that we live. I was writing a song a few years ago with Paul Baloche. He told me that when you are writing a worship song, you are giving them a vocabulary of order. It is the first thing they are doing in a service. It is a sacred time.
 
I have a friend I used to tour with, and he would also quote John 8:12 about how whoever follows Jesus will never walk in darkness, but have the Light of life. It is interesting to think about how we walk in darkness unless we've had the Light of Christ in our lives. The "light of life" is a beautiful way to say that. It's really easy to take our salvation or personal journey with Christ and turn it into something inward. In Psalm 106 the writer says "We were saved for Your glory to make Your name known." It's not about us. It draws us to Christ. I love the idea of making Jesus famous. That's our whole meaning. We need to focus on that more, and we'll have a much fuller life.
 
Lyrics:
To the amazing One
To the unchanging One
To Him the anthem raise
Lift up your hymns of praise
For all the things You've done
For all the things to come
To Him the anthem raise
Lift up a shout of
 
Praise Him with all of the music
Praise Him in all of the nations
Praise Him with all of creation
We praise Him
We praise Him
 
See now the risen One
See the exalted Son
To Him the anthem raise
Lift up a shout of
 
Praise Him with all of the music
Praise Him in all of the nations
Praise Him with all of creation
We praise Him
We praise Him
Praise Him with all of your heart sing
Praise Him in this generation
Jesus, the Light of Salvation
We praise Him
We praise Him
 
Shine Your light forever and ever
Shine Your light forever and ever
Shine Your light, Shine Your light in the world
 
Before God created man, He created light. God sent Jesus so that we could have light return. As believers that's our story and also our challenge, to think about how we are reflecting the light of Jesus and how we are spending our time before we die.
 
Also, it is commanded by Jesus in Matthew 5:16 to "let your light shine" so that others may praise God based on seeing the power of His life in us. Sometimes we forget to give Jesus credit for our freedom and accomplishments. We need to celebrate that freedom with our hands reaching out to others in Christ, show His light in us and let Him shine in us. The song has a very catchy, emotive and worshipful alt-rock musical style.
 
The song is an amazing reminder of how we are called to be a light for Jesus, every day, "without complaining or arguing" (Phil. 2:14). "Praise Him" is a song, a prayer and a call for revival in our hearts. Believers can all sing: "Praise Him with all of your heart sing, Praise Him in this generation, Jesus, the Light of Salvation, We praise Him." Amen to that!
 
(Watch the lyric video here.)