Not sure how to pray? Sing a song. Sing it to yourself or sing it out loud. Roll up the windows in the car and sing full blast. The psalm says, “Make a joyful noise,” not “Make a perfect sound.”
Pick something that makes you happy, something that fills you with praise. Or pick something that’s deep and poignant, that’ll help you get in touch with your feelings, help you articulate your prayer. Music is good for both body and soul.
OK, so sometimes I forget that too. Yesterday I’d gone outside to get some lunch and I was thinking of a web quiz I’d just seen on all the health benefits of music. It can help the blood flow in your heart, help stroke victims recover. It can aid Parkinson's victims who have difficulties speaking. Music lessons are beneficial for brain development in kids. You can live without music like I suppose you can live without prayer, but why would you?
I was standing in line at my favorite food truck, waiting for my favorite lunch, vegetarian biryani, when I heard some music in the air. Bells. Church bells. For a moment I thought maybe it was someone’s cell phone ringing. Or was some storefront blasting a Christmas carol? The streets are so narrow in downtown New York and the blocks so crowded with tall buildings, it’s hard to know what’s there.
Then I looked down the block and realized for the first time that there’s a church there with bells that peel. These bells were peeling a hymn I knew well: “Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices…” I started humming along and noticed I wasn’t alone. The guy in the ski cap handing out flyers was humming too. “You know that song?” I called to him.
“Sure do,” he replied.
“I didn’t know that church plays bells. What time do they do it?”
“Every hour.”
“Sounds nice.” I picked up my biryani and then we each went our way, humming thanksgiving. Music and prayer and some good food to boot. “Now thank we all our God…” was just the right song for the days after the Thanksgiving holiday.
