Worship Interludes - Piano Instrumentals for Prayer, Meditation, Soaking Worship, Relaxation, Study, and Rest

Today’s interlude was inspired by a Scripture that I read during my personal devotion this morning:

“May God be gracious to us and bless us, and make his face to shine upon us”.  (Psalm 67:1)

God’s grace and blessings come to us in so many ways.   Throughout this piece, I found myself jumping from key to key, theme to theme, as you will hear, there is a good bit of diversity in what’s happening musically.

I hope you enjoy it.

Peace to you,

Fred

Today’s interlude is called “step by step”.   It reminds us that we take each day, step by step, moment by moment.  I love how Scripture tells us to “not worry about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34).

Personally, I felt really satisfied after creating this interlude.   Some days it just “feels right” when I’m done.   This one felt right.

My hope is that you will sense a peace and comfort as you listen and take time to remember that we should take things day by day.   Don’t worry about what tomorrow may bring – focus only on today.  It’s my prayer that this music will help you in your personal time of worship, devotion, meditation and will help relieve stress, anxiety, and worry.

I hope you’re enjoying the music.  If you are listening please consider leaving a comment and letting me know.

A beautiful sunrise is hard to beat.  It signals the dawning of a new day, a new start. I love how the Bible declares that God’s mercy is brand new for us each morning.  It’s like we start over with a fresh dose of it. [Lamentations 3:23]

As the sun rises on your new day, take a moment to slow down and consider all the blessings you have.  Take time to be grateful.   Forgive those who have offended you and extend mercy to them as mercy is freely given to you.

Well my friends, I have to confess, I was shocked when I realized that I had not posted a new interlude the entire month of March. To say that I missed the weekly rhythm of posting interludes is an understatement.

I go through seasons where it feels like a chore.  But then, as soon as I sit down and began to play, the pleasure returns and I feel at home, in my element, doing what I love.

Today’s interlude is called “Contemplation” and that’s exactly what I was doing prior to, and during this recording. March 2018 was a tough month as I encountered some significant changes in my business that I have managed for more than a decade. It was a drastic change of life, pace, and honestly – it shook me.

Contemplation is good. It helps you search your soul, pray, ask questions, and seek answers.

As I play I hope you’ll be able to listen and reflect, pray, meditate, and contemplate.

Video:

Today’s interlude is going to be different, in case you haven’t noticed. I’ve added another layer of sound with the acoustic piano. I wanted to experiment with some ambient synth pads and create some tension for this interlude.

I call this interlude “Mysteries”.  It’s an extended interlude over ten minutes long and gives you an opportunity to really sit back and sink into the theme.

Personally, I enjoy this type of interlude for prayers of intercession, battles in prayer, or deep meditation into the mysteries of God.

I’d love to know what you think – I realize this is quite a bit different from the typical interludes I post.  Please share your thoughts.

Yesterday I was talking to some friends about the word “Restore” and “Restoration”. This is a word that I’m focusing on in 2018. There have been some things I’ve lost – that I’ve let slip in my life – and I am hoping to see them restored.

In the end, restoration is beautiful. Most things that are restored are more strong and beautiful than before – many times, even better than the original condition. When we see something restored we are in awe.

But we lose sight of the reality that the process of restoration can be brutal. Things have to be stripped down, torn apart, dismantled, and removed. There are things that cannot be re-used and must be discarded.  In the process of restoration you will find junk that is worthless but you may find something of immense value that can be salvaged.

This musical interlude reflects this process. It starts with a darker, minor theme and eventually moves to a major theme, and then to a light, joyful sense of awe as you begin to see the finished product.

If you’re in a restoration process, I hope you will stay strong until the end. It’s worth it.

I hope as you listen today you can be still and just meditate on what is being restored in your life. Think about the pain, the struggle, the process, and surrender to it. At the same time, don’t lose sight of the vision of what the fully restored part of your life will be like!

Today’s interlude is called “Determination”. There are days when we remind ourselves about what is at stake. We think to ourselves, “I can just give in and give up, or I can press on”.

Determination escapes us from time to time but it’s necessary when things start to stack up around us.

I hope today’s interlude will inspire you to take a moment, catch your breath, close your eyes, relax, and remind yourself …

YOU CAN DO THIS!

Today I was able to walk outside on a beautiful day with clear blue skies and watch in bewilderment as the SpaceX corporation launched their “Falcon Heavy” spaceship from Cape Canaveral, FL. The launch site is several hours south yet on a beautiful day you can see launches clearly.

I’ve always been inspired and amazed by space launches and aeronautics in general. And while in one sense it makes me proud of mankind and what they can accomplish, it reminds me of how brilliant our Creator is to have given us the ability to do such things.

Beyond that, I’m in awe and inspired by the majestic power of a Creator who created the heavens and earth. I walked back into the studio and recorded this interlude.  I hope that as you listen, it will inspire you to think of the awe and majesty of the Creator.

I’ll be honest.  I almost didn’t record today. You see, it’s Monday. But not just a Monday,  it’s one of “those Mondays”. The kind of Monday where you oversleep because your alarm was set to “PM” instead of “AM”. The kind of Monday where you hear something that puts a knot in your stomach. The kind of Monday where you come in and the coffee isn’t made.  (man, is this ever sounding selfish!). The kind of Monday where before 10:00 AM you’ve blown your diet/food goal. I think you get the picture.

As I was wrapping up in the studio I decided to just swing my chair around and strike the keys a bit and this little theme came out. It grabbed me and my fatigue quickly melted away into anticipation as I recorded this interlude.

Sometimes I have a theme in mind or I’m playing “prayers” but this time I was just making music. It wasn’t until after I finished and was looking through some stock photos on Pexels when I saw this beautiful picture and the words came to me “keep walking … one step at a time”.

There are days when it seems we are coasting downhill. Then there are days when it seems like we’re just dragging ourselves uphill. Sometimes we have days where we don’t even know if we’re moving.

On those days we just have to remember … it’s OK to now know what tomorrow holds.  It’s OK to not have it all figured out. Take a deep breath, be thankful for what you have, and put one foot in front of the other. Keep walking.

I hope this interlude will bring peace and help you to relax, pray, meditate, and find your stride. Slow down.  Breathe.  Listen.  It’s OK.

I’ve been thinking about humility lately. Such a powerful thing; yet, often difficult to obtain. The Bible says that God opposed the proud, but gives grace to the humble. I want to be more humble. That is my meditation today as I play this interlude.