The power of hymns in people’s lives

hymns are songs sung by Christians in church during a divine service or in other different occasions.
Wikipedia defines a hymn as ” . . . a lyric poem, reverently and devotionally conceived, which is designed to be sung and which expresses the worshipper’s attitude towards God or God’s purposes in human life. It should be simple and metrical in form, genuinely emotional, poetic and literary in style, spiritual in quality, and in its ideas so direct and so immediately apparent as to unify a congregation while singing it”.

Anyone can have their own definition of a hymn depending on how the songs affect your individual spiritual life. Some people have defined a hymn as one’s prayer to God while others have defined hymns as songs written and sung in praise of God.
Others have also defined hymns as testimonials, which tell about the songwriter’s personal life experiences and God’s involvement in their lives.

In Zimbabwe some artistes from both secular and Christian entertainment spheres have included a few hymns in their albums which they borrowed from their different church hymn books.
Names that easily come to mind include Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi, and the late Cephas “Moto Muzhinji” Mashakada.
I am convinced that they decided to sing from the hymn book after discovering the power of hymns in people’s lives.

Among hymns sung by Oliver Mtukudzi include the song “Hakuna Zita Sera Jesu” while Cephas Mashakada sang “Jerusalema Musha Wangu” from the hymn book of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe.
Other artistes who sang church hymns include the Mbare Singers, Nyasha Dzedenga Group, Shower Power, Pastor Bonnie Deuschle, the late Mr Bulk and many others.
Although some of these artistes have been criticised in some circles for failing to write their own songs, one should not ignore the creativity with which they sang the hymns while the reception to their music bore testimony to the fact that church hymns have a powerful effect on music lovers.

Hymns are songs written by many different song writers from different backgrounds. A single hymn book may contain more than 400 hymns, which talk about a diverse range of Christian subjects. There are different hymn books and churches choose a hymn book with hymns that are consistent with its church doctrines.

Some hymns dwell on different theological topics such as the state of the dead, the Sabbath, baptism, the Second Coming of Jesus and many others where churches do not always agree on.
In the church, hymns may serve as summarised sermons where they preach Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world. During a worship service Christians have an opportunity to appreciate the spiritual messages carried in hymns by paying close attention to their lyrical content.

Hymns occupy a significant place in church where they incorporate worshippers by helping them to participate in church through music.
Different songwriters have written hymns to praise God after going through different experiences in their lives.
Among these song writers include C. Wesley, W. Bullock, J. Marriot, W. J. Mathams, Anna Warner, Annie R. Smith, Horatius Bonar and Fanny J. Crosby.

Fanny J. Crosby is one example of a songwriter who dedicated her life to serving God through songwriting.
She became blind following a surgical mishap on her eyes but during her lifetime, she wrote thousands of hymns, which touched millions of lives of Christians across the world before dying at 95.

During her time, she gave a testimony that hymns kept many Christians alive, because they were able to connect through with their Creator through singing.
It is such that powerful connection that Crosby was talking about that has seen several churches holding on to their hymn books despite the advent of other forms of medium that are with us today.

A number of Christians I had an opportunity to talk to said hymns were quite crucial to the life of a believer in Christ.
“If you read Apostle Paul in Col 3:16 he says ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching and admonish one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs . . .’

“If you look at it, you should tell that it is a believer’s weapon in the face of life’s adversities,” said Rodwell Maramba of Mabelreign.
Sister Petwin from a prominent Pentecostal church reiterated adding that more often than not, hymns often linked to verses in the Bible, making it easier to get biblical teachings, now and then.

“So when we sing hymns, we are constantly reminding ourselves on God’s teachings and to know whether we have been walking in the correct path,” she said.
Some research studies have found out that people can remember 20 percent of the sermon, thereby making hymns an edifying tool.
And because they are constantly repeated, it then becomes an important factor in memorisation.