In today’s divided world, Christian music is calling believers back to the essentials — faith, prayer, and trust in God. From Skillet’s defiant “All That Matters” to Tauren Wells’ powerful “When We Pray,” we've curated a playlist of songs that serve as anthems of hope, courage, and spiritual strength.
Skillet, "All That Matters"
Skillet's lead vocalist, John Cooper, has taken some fire from critics for his recent forays into political commentary in his podcast and the tinges of political messaging that have peppered recent Skillet projects. However, Cooper has always grounded any political commentary he makes in very Biblical worldviews. For instance, take the band's song "All That Matters" from their new album Revolution. The song proclaims, "My faith, my family, my freedom's all that matters to me." For all the rhetoric about how faith is seeking to influence the political realm, it seems increasingly so, it's become the political realm that wants to intrude on faith. This song is a courageous anthem about resisting and pushing back on the things the enemy uses to take what matters most to us.
Despite all of the political concerns of our day, the things that matter most to us are our faith, our family, and our freedom. Our faith and the right to express it: to proclaim that Jesus is Lord, and to pass that values on to our children. These things are always under assault by the enemy, and we can see those attacks coming at us from all directions these days. For those looking to take a stand and protect our gifts of faith, our family, and our freedoms, this song can serve as a true anthem of courage to unite us as Christian brethren and as citizens. -JJ Francesco
Tauren Wells, "When We Pray"
Tauren Wells has been a catalyst for the church to wake up and do what we're called to do. As a fellow Southwest Michigan native, I'm especially a fan of his music and ministry. His song "When We Pray" powerfully proclaims what it looks like when God's people use one of our most effective weapons -- prayer. "All the world starts changing/When the church starts praying/Strongholds start to break/Oh, when we pray/Prison walls start shaking/At the sound of praising/Nothing stays the same/Oh, when we pray." What would happen if we really took God at His Word and believed that our prayers are powerful and effective? Listen to this song and let it ignite a fire in you to take your prayer life to a whole new level. -Janice Henriquez
Rend Collective, "Build Your Kingdom Here"
Although Rend Collective is an Irish band, "Build Your Kingdom Here" is a song for believers in any country. This is an energetic prayer for God to build His kingdom and change the hearts in the land we live. So often we complain about what's going on in our country, but what if we turned our complaints into prayers?
"Set Your church on fire/Win this nation back/Change the atmosphere/Build Your kingdom here/We pray." -Felicia Holt
Anne Wilson, "God & Country"
"God & Country" by Anne Wilson has become my personal anthem, and I sing along at the top of my lungs to these sincere and emotive lyrics of submission and patriotism. You can't earn your way into heaven. Jesus already paid that price for us. God's mercy and grace are new each day. It's not based on our performance or what we can do for God. He pours out His mercy despite what we've done. There's nothing we can do except trust in His son, Jesus.
All we need is faith, and God will show us what He has planned for us. He's the author of our lives and knows what's best for us much better than we do. Be encouraged by the light of Jesus shining in all of us based on our faith in Him, and personally, I am moved to know that Jesus is shining in me for all to see and believe. Be a Rebel. Join Anne in praying these words: "I'm grace given free and a hard-earned dollar/Child of the King and a coal miner's daughter/I'm prayers up to Heaven, roots down in Kentucky/I got a good life down here and a better one waitin' up above me/Made by God and country." -Kevin Davis
Silence The Echo, "Into Serenity"
One of my favorite new artists in the Christian rock and metal scenes is Silence The Echo. Hailing from Finland, this female-fronted symphonic band's debut single, "Into Serenity," is such a fresh and encouraging song. The message of the song is nothing new but is always welcome -- reminders of God's promises and faithfulness to us.
The chorus encourages us by saying, "He will save you from the Fowler's snare/He will cover you with His feathers into serenity/His faithfulness will be your shield and guard." When we, as a church, come together and proclaim his promises and remind each other of his faithfulness, we can stand firm against the devil's schemes. -Ryan Adams
OpenAI's ChatGPT provided some assistance with this article. Assembled from the four corners of North America and many other corners in between, the NRTeam comprises staffers whose energy is equally dispersed towards loving and writing about the music they love.
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