The Worship Coalition
“As The Worship Coalition our mission is to raise up an army of worshippers to shake nations and change governments through worship and song. We will accomplish this by providing hands on practical training and support to worship leaders and songwriters around the world.”
I love the idea that we don’t have to worship, we get to!
This thought often helps to reframe my approach to worship, to see it not as a rigid obligation but an answer to a holy invitation.
The idea of the all sufficiency of God isn’t anything new. But the fact that the One who does’t need anything invites us to commune with Him should illicit a response that is nothing short of absolute awe and devotion.
We get to worship in response to his gentle invitation.
A little over a year ago I had the privilege to write a worship song dealing with just this idea. I had just met my now friends, 406 United, at a Worship Coalition writing intensive in Bozeman, Montana.
Our session began with us worshiping together and the room was immediately saturated with the presence of God.
Out of that time we began talking about the unique ways in which God draws us to Himself through worship.
The opening lyric came as a thought someone had in the room:
“You don’t need me to give You anything, but I want to, I want to.”
It was such a simply profound way to begin.
God is all sufficient.
He doesn’t need anything from us!
Yet it’s His nature to invite us to walk with him and trust him for everything we need. This led us to the next vulnerable statement:
“But You ask me to give you everything, so I trust You, I trust You.”
It’s not as though God is some passive, transcendent being commanding worship from space. No, He actively invites us to give Him our full devotion, to trust him with everything, not because He needs it but because He knows we do!
The rest of the first verse just builds on this dance back and forth between God’s way of not forcing himself on us and our response to Him in worship:
“You don’t need me to tell You who You are
But I love to, I love to
You don’t need me to build You up but
I want to, I want to”
Our only response to answer that verse is worship, to build God up!
We referenced Revelation 5 and someone sang “You are Holy.” The conversational tone of the verse was then answered with a vertical declaration of worship with the chorus naturally following the call and response feel of the verses:
“You are Holy
King of Kings and Lord of Lords
You are so worthy
We bless Your name forevermore
You deserve the highest praise
All I ever want to say is
Holy, I love You, I love You
So Worthy, I want to, I want to”
The rest of the song wrote itself.
The second verse continues the “have to vs. get to” idea.
As messy and sinful as we are, God chooses to bring us along with Him into the mystery of His will for our lives.
The bridge, an exclamation point on the chorus, is inspired by Revelation 5:12-13.
“All glory and power, honor and wisdom
All blessings are found in You”
Our hope is that “I Want To (Holy)” helps your church reframe your approach to God in worship: we don’t have to, but we get to worship the One who has given us everything. It’s a celebration of who God is: His Holiness, His supremacy and His sufficiency.
The Worship Coalition | “I Want To (Holy)”
Lead “I Want To (Holy)” with your congregation.