The Correlation Between Prophesying and Praising God

Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. . . .

who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the Lord.

1 Chronicles 25:1, 3 (portions)

Is that amazing, or what? These men were singing praise to the Lord with instruments, which was referred to as . . . prophesying! Singing and playing instruments to praise the Lord = prophesying. Wow! For those of us headcover-ers who wonder, “What, exactly, is ‘prophesying’?” this helps to answer that question.

In 1 Corinthians 11:5 we are told that “every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head . . .” This verse teaches that women must have a covering on their head while praying or prophesying. Prophecy could include predicting the future (think Old Testament prophets), but a more general interpretation of what it means to “prophesy” could be put this way: prophesying is speaking the words of God. So, a person might receive a message straight from God to that person’s heart and will tell others what he/she has heard; or, a person might repeat a passage from the Bible, which is God’s message to us in written form. My personal belief is that the latter possibility is more likely to occur. We don’t exactly need to get fresh messages; the already-revealed Word is always fresh, through the Spirit’s power. The Word of God is living and powerful, no matter how much time has passed since it was first written down.

I think that the men whom David set apart to serve God with music were literally singing songs straight from the Psalms, word for word, since prophecy involves speaking God’s words.

Here’s another example from the Bible of prophecy being correlated with praise:

. . . And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying.

1 Samuel 10:5 (last part)

This text is referring to Saul when he was anointed king of Israel. He was instructed to go to a certain city where he would meet this group of prophets. After meeting up with them, the Spirit of God came upon him, and he began to prophecy, too. So, playing musical instruments and singing are actions which are seen to be connected with prophesying in this instance, as well.

What might that mean for us? Perhaps this: if we are in church singing praise — even if it isn’t word-for-word Scripture (but it will probably have some phrases and ideas from the Bible) — we should cover. (We might even choose to cover if we are singing praise at home with our families.) We should cover because we are participating in the worship of the gathered assembly of believers; we are “prophesying” through our praise and thanksgiving in the form of song (and instrument playing).

AWEsome!