God has a way of surprising us with His gifts. He knows what we need and what we desire, even before we ask Him. He also knows how to make us wait and trust Him, until He reveals His plan for us.

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I had been praying for years, asking God to show me my gifts and talents. I wanted to serve Him and honour Him with what He had given me, but I didn't know what it was. I prayed and begged and asked for a sign.

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Then, in 2008, something changed. I went through a difficult time in my life, a 'desert journey', as I call it. I was desperate to hear from God. I cried out to Him more than ever, begging Him to show me His will for me, and the gift he placed inside of me. Surely there must be something! And then, arrogantly enough I said, “God, I do not want something everyone else has.”

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I started to feel a strange passion for piano music. Whenever I heard a beautiful piano melody, I would tear up and feel moved. I didn't understand why. It touched my soul in a way that nothing else did.

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One day, I heard a knock on my front door. I opened it and saw a man I met a few weeks ago at a client's place. He said he was passing by and noticed we were building on. He asked if we needed glass for windows as he had recently started a glass supply business. He also remembered me from before and decided to give me one of his CDs, a recording of his own piano compositions. I was so grateful and thrilled and in my heart I felt God was telling me I would one day have my own piano!

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Not long after that, I was driving to a work function, I saw a sign that caught my attention. It was a large number '37', next to the name of a conference centre and a guest house. The number '37' was significant to me, because it was part of a special number that God had given me earlier that year. It was also my age at the time. I felt a surge of excitement, believing that God was trying to tell me something.

That night I looked up the meaning of the names of the conference centre and the guest house. They were 'Manna' and 'Eden'. I learned that 'Manna' meant 'An unexpected gift' and 'Eden' meant 'Delight'. I wondered what God had in store for me. What gift did He want to give me? What delight did He want to show me?  Had no idea what God was going to give me but I knew I had to wait patiently and trust Him.

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One morning, while I was getting ready in my room, I had piano music playing softly in the background. As usual, I started crying. My husband walked in and saw me. He asked me what was wrong. I told him about my new-found passion for piano music and how it made me cry every time. He said, "If this is the case, we should look for a second-hand piano."

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I was surprised by his suggestion. I hadn’t touched a piano since I was in grade 3. My husband told me that we had R5k budget for the piano. I thought to myself, there is no way we are going to find a piano for R5k.

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But God had another surprise for me. One of my close friends told me that their neighbour was moving house and they had a beautiful piano that they wanted to sell. They were asking for R15k, which was way out of our budget. But the piano looked amazing in the pictures, and I felt drawn to it. Something inside me led me to text the owner and ask them if they would accept R5k for the piano. I knew it was a ridiculous offer, but I had nothing to lose.

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To my astonishment, they replied that they would take R7k for it.

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I was overjoyed, but also nervous. My husband had said that we could only afford R5k for the piano. How could I ask him for more? How could I ask anyone for more? But I just knew I had to buy this piano! I gathered all my courage and asked my parents if they could lend me R2k so that I could buy the piano. It was hard for me to do that because I didn't like asking for money from anyone. But I promised them that I would pay them back as soon as possible, and that this was something very important to me.

As I was sitting in their home, explaining the situation and hoping that they would agree, my husband walked in and said it was okay, he would pay R7k for the piano!

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I couldn't believe it! God had provided everything I needed to get the piano! He had given me an unexpected gift!

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In February 2009 we bought the piano and I tried to play some old tunes from my childhood, but they sounded wrong and I felt disappointed. I wondered if I had made a mistake buying the piano. Then God brought back to my mind the dreams I had for many years, but I never paid attention to them or thought about them much. In those dreams, I would enter a huge room with many pianos, and I could pick any one to play, and as I touched the keys, the music would flow effortlessly from my fingers!

Remembering this, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "Holy Spirit, let my fingers move" and my fingers moved to the right notes and a beautiful melody came forth. I repeated it several times to memorize it, and soon I had a complete piece of music! I was amazed and puzzled by what had just happened. I thought 'how can I explain this? Who would believe me?' The unexpected gift was not the piano but the music!? I needed the piano for the gift of music!

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That year God gave me seven pieces of music. In 2010 God gave me another seven pieces. He also sent me to Israel twice that year for a ministry event. Everything started happening in pairs and when I asked God about it, He led me to the story of Joseph. The king asked Joseph to interpret his dreams and Joseph said: "The two dreams mean the same thing. God gave it to you twice because it is established and it will soon come to pass."

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I understood then that God was establishing things in my life. He was preparing my way before Him.

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Proverbs 4:26 ~ Ponder the path of your feet and let all your ways be established.

 

Having ministered with the music many times I have seen the power of God in many occasions. It is not just pleasant to the ears, but also healing to the soul. The sound becomes a sharp instrument that God uses to perform gentle surgery on the heart. Just as He used sound to demolish the walls of Jericho, He is using sound to destroy the enemy's stronghold in the people's hearts and bring wholeness and restoration.

Sound can reach where water cannot; these sounds can penetrate the deepest parts of your being and bring healing. David's harp did this - he played soothing melodies on his harp and Saul experienced some relief in his mind. Demons were paralyzed and forced to flee at the sound of David's harp.

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I believe that sound can be used to purify and prepare atmospheres where God wants to speak, anoint, prophesy and bless.

The Bible says, 'While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came on Elisha and he said, "This is what the LORD says..."' (2 Kings 3:15-16). Music was often used for God to speak through prophets, like Elisha.

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We read in Chronicles, 'David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals.' (1 Chron 25:1)

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I cannot write music, I have no formal training or qualification, but God chose to give this gift to me. He gives me inspiration and guidance; I am totally dependent on Him with this gift. I was 37 years old when I received it and the last time I played a piano before this day was when I was in grade 3.

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. ~ 1 Corinthians 1:27

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God has a purpose for everything. He has a purpose for sound; for His melodies and music. Sadly, many people have shut themselves off and do not go deeper with God to experience what He has planned, but some do. Those who choose to quiet their mind and open their heart to the sounds have received healing in their soul. A lady once shared that she had severe back pain for days and during a soaking session, she felt the pain leaving her back. It is like anything God has for us ..

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we can only receive when we have faith to receive.

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“I have set those in this earth, those who are My psalmists, and they shall establish a flow, a flow of My river among My people, a flow that will help My people come higher, a flow of My presence. Because their songs come from heaven and their songs are anointed, they shall indeed impact you and bring you into what I am doing. So when you hear the sound of heaven impacting your heart and when you hear the sound of heaven coming upon you embrace it and let it do its work. Let it bring peace to your soul, let it bring joy to your heart and let it bring healing to your body. Let the Spirit of the Lord flow in the sound that I am bringing forth as promised. For such a time as this embrace My sound, says the Lord Most Holy.”

~ Faith Tabernacle, The Trumpet by Bill Burns, 15 October 2012

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