Devil Music

The Banned Music List

AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Nine Inch Nails, Megadeth, are the kinds that always make the “Devil Music” list.

Oak Ridge Boys, Statler Brothers, Bill Gaither, Tammy Wynette, and a few other notables, don’t ever make the list, but one of the songs they love to sing should. It’s a song originally sung by Lorreta Lynn:

Now let us have a little talk with Jesus,
Let us tell Him all about our troubles,
He will hear our faintest cry,
He will answer by and by;
Now when you feel a little prayer wheel turning,
He will know a little fire is burning,
You will find a little talk with Jesus makes it right.

It’s good to sing about going to God in prayer, and taking our troubles to him. But to sing about having a “little talk with Jesus” is dangerous. Besides the weird notion of a “prayer wheel”, little talks with Jesus often slip into telling God what he needs to do.

People Reminding God?

The Devil would love you spend time in prayer informing God of what you think is wrong, and what he should be doing. Here are some great examples…

• Abraham reminded God that he and Sarah were too old to have kids.
• Martha reminded Jesus to the fact that if he had been in Bethany Lazarus wouldn’t have died.
• The disciples on the Road to Emmaus reminded Jesus how what they had been hoping for wasn’t going to happen.
• The Apostles after the Ascension reminded Jesus about finally establishing his kingdom.
• Peter pulled Jesus aside and reminded him to not talk about going to the cross.

Listen to how God responds…

• To Abraham…“Is anything too hard for the me? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” (Genesis 18:14)
• To Martha…“I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live.” (John 11:25)
• To the Disciples…“How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” (Luke 24:25–26)
• To the Apostles…“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” (Acts 1:7)
• And to Peter…“Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (Matthew 16:23)

God’s Music

God loves music. He invented it. But there’s a specific song he loves to sing…

The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

Others may have forgotten about you, but God hasn’t. He is aware of everything going on in your life. Nothing escapes his attention, nor has caught him by surprise. He knows the details of your life because he’s the author and the finisher of it. What makes this even, better is that God is mightier than anything you’re facing!

And while God’s saving you, helping you, and responding to you, he’s singing a song over you. Anything that suggests otherwise is definitely Devil Music!