
There is a serious problem afoot in the church today: Theology, sermons, and teachings are being based on songs from the top gospel hit-list rather than from a correct exegesis and interpretation of the biblical text! People are by-and-large doctrinally deficient and grossly ignorant of what the Bible really says about faith and life! The old prophetic word is coming to fruition before our very eyes: The people of God are indeed perishing for the lack of knowledge!
At the time that I am writing this post, I am on the verge of completing forty-one (41) years in the preaching ministry! A lot has changed within the church in the neck of the woods where I labor. For instance; forty-one years ago (1978), there were no ‘Baptist Bishops!’ Forty-one years ago, there was no amour-bearer ministry! And forty-one years ago, there certainly was no pervasive practice of church-people, decreeing and declaring, speaking into the atmosphere or calling those things that be not as though they were! Yes! A lot has changed in the church in the last forty-one years!
Now, as I write this post, please know that it is not my intention to be judgmental or critical, but rather to express what I believe to be biblical truth. I do not profess to be perfect or without error, but I do believe what I am sharing in this post is the biblical truth, therefore, I echo the words attributed to the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:15: “Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you.” (NLT)
I heard in a song some years ago and now I am beginning to consistently hear it in the preaching and teaching in many corners of the church; this notion of speaking into the atmosphere! It sounds ‘holy’ and ‘pious’ but is it biblical? Is this a practice endorsed or commended in the biblical text? I would suggest that it is not! Not only that, but I would also suggest that this practice is detrimental and constitutes an abuse of faith and worship! Let me show you what I am talking about:
First of all, while our words do have the power to change conditions around us (for instance, words can create tension, anger, relief, or laughter in our communication with people), the type of change that is suggested in speaking into the atmosphere in the worship experience is mystical and manipulative! It is an abuse of faith! For instance, when this ‘speaking into the atmosphere’ is suggested, there is no disclaimer given that mentions the condition of the speaker’s relationship with the Lord. In other words, if a person is not right in their relationship with the Lord, no matter how much they ‘speak into the atmosphere’ or even ‘pray the prayer of faith’ there will be no good results; they are wasting breath and time! When we are not in right-relationship with the Lord, it effects our communication with the Lord! Deitrick Haddon is mistaken: God doesn’t hear a sinner’s prayer without restrictions; the only prayer God hears from a sinner is the prayer of repentance! The Prophet Isaiah reported to the ancient Israelites: “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2 KJV) King David said: “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” (Psalm 66:18 NLT)
This ideal of ‘speaking into the atmosphere’ has no biblical basis. In other words, there is no biblical example of such a practice! There is no record in the Bible of people ‘speaking into the atmosphere’ in the manner it is practiced today! In fact, in addressing the practice of publicly speaking in tongues, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church: “So now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in other tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you with a revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? Even lifeless instruments that produce sounds– whether flute or harp– if they don’t make a distinction in the notes, how will what is played on the flute or harp be recognized? In fact, if the bugle makes an unclear sound, who will prepare for battle? In the same way, unless you use your tongue for intelligible speech, how will what is spoken be known? For you will be speaking into the air.” (1 Corinthians 14:6-9 CSB) When Paul said, ‘you will be speaking into the air’ he meant publicly ‘speaking in tongues’ is useless without accompanying interpretation. That’s the closest the Bible gets to the practice of speaking into the air! And in that context, it was used as an example of a fruitless activity!
But not only does the practice of ‘speaking into the atmosphere’ have no biblical basis, it is a well-documented practice of ancient magic and New Age mysticism! I believe there are many church-people today, who believe more in magic than they do in God and this ‘speaking into the atmosphere’ is a prime example! But even more surprising than that practice is the pervasive erroneous belief that merely saying the phrase; “In the name of Jesus” makes a difference in faith, prayer, and practice! However, the difference is not in merely saying; “in the name of Jesus,” the difference is in actually functioning in the name of Jesus! To pray, preach, or do anything without a relationship with Jesus and think by merely saying; ‘in the name of Jesus’ after or as it is being done gives it validity is as much effectiveness as saying ‘open-says-a-me’ or ‘abbra-ca-dabra!’ ‘In the name of Jesus’ was never meant to be a catch-phrase or a chant-formula to tack on the end of our prayers or actions. In the name of Jesus means to act or function on Jesus’ behalf or in his stead! It is the somewhat like our power of attorney. The one who acts or functions in the name of Jesus is one who acts or function with the authority and in the same manner as Jesus himself would act or function! It was never meant to be a ‘catch-phrase’ or an endorsement formula to justify our actions and prayers!
Now, I’ve talked about speaking into the atmosphere as an abuse of faith, in addition, it is also an abuse of worship! Here’s the reason why! Most modern worshippers are completely ignorant of the true purpose of worship! The word ‘worship’ comes from the Old English; ‘worth-ship.’ Therefore real worship is not about the one who worships, but rather about the one who is worshipped! Real worship is not about what we get, but rather about what we give! In real worship, we ascribe to God His Worth! Therefore, the person who refuses to worship is, in essence, saying; “God is not worth it!”
The focus of real worship is God; not us! Therefore, when church-people fight about contemporary worship or traditional worship, the argument has more to do with cultural and personal preferences than biblical correctness! The bottom-line is both are vain and useless if the primary focus is on the worshipper instead of the Worshipped! And that’s my problem with this notion of ‘speaking into the atmosphere’ in the worship setting. It seems like an attempt to coerce the presence of God, which is in reality, not necessary because God is omnipresent; there is no place that God is not! In addition to that fact, God is within every believer in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, whenever and wherever believers congregate, there really is no need to invoke, invite, or summons the presence of the God who is already there! In addition to that, Jesus said: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20 KJV) Therefore, our worship should be a response to the Lord’s presence, not an attempt to ‘invite His presence!’
In thinking about the ideal of inviting His presence, it reminds me of what happened with the contest on Mt. Carmel:
“And Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.’ And the people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, ‘I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.’ And all the people answered, ‘It is well spoken.’ Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, ‘Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.’ And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, ‘O Baal, answer us!’ But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, ‘Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.’ And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.” (1 Kings 18:21-29 ESV)
Therefore, my friends, in regard to ‘speaking into the atmosphere,’ such a practice has no biblical basis and is alarming similar to, if not the same as, ancient magical and modern New Age practices; both of which are contrary to real biblical faith! Be careful of how your theology is shaped and formed! Perhaps it is time for us to spend less time on Facebook and more time in The Book! It is well pass time for us to allow the Bible to inform our theology and singing instead of allowing popular Gospel music to inform our theology and practice!