Have you ever heard an orchestra tune up? You can do so by listening to this video here.
The musicians in the orchestra, which is made up of a variety of instruments, have to tune their instruments so that the music they play together sounds harmonious and melodious. They tune their instruments to the note A (440 Hz), and the instruments need to be tuned because of changes in temperature and humidity. For instance, when the conditions are hot and dry, the pitch of the string instruments goes flat. Similarly, with more humidity, the strings sound more sharper. Listening to instruments tune up is not particularly pleasant, but hopefully the end results will be!
Garry spoke this morning about the need for us to be ‘attuned’ to God. Effectively, this means that our wills are aligned to His; we allow ourselves to be ‘re-set’ to God’s note, so to speak, rather than persisting with our own thoughts and attitudes which will lead to actions which are decidedly ‘off pitch.’ The dictionary gives 3 definitions of ‘attuned’:
1. made receptive or aware
2. made familiar with
3. made harmonious
In prayer, we are first of all made receptive to God’s voice as we still and quieten our souls to listen to Him. (Ps 131:2, John 10:4) We become familiar with His voice. It has been said that a parent will recognise its child’s cries from all the other voices around. This is true of God with us, but the more time we spend with God, the more sensitive we become to recognising His voice as well. Finally, as we submit our wills to His will and allow Him to work in and through us, the ‘sound’ that we make in the world becomes harmonious, for we are working with God, rather than struggling and striving against Him.
Just as the orchestra’s initial tuning-up session is not particularly pleasant for the audience to listen to, our struggles in prayer are not always very melodious! Nonetheless, this process of ‘tuning up’ is essential if we are to ultimately make a noise that is pleasing to God. When our lives match our words, when our hearts are yielded to God and there is congruence between what we say we believe and how we live, then there is a joyful sound which pleases God’s heart. Let’s always be listening for His voice and seek to be in tune with Him.