Your Voice
A Look Behind the Song
Here’s a new one: I’m releasing a song! You can listen to “Your Voice” on all major streaming platforms.
A little backstory: last year, the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students asked if I could write a worship song for their upcoming East Asia Regional Conference, a gathering of hundreds of college students from across East Asia. The conference theme is “Voice Matters,” learning to discern God's voice among the many voices in our lives.
As I wrote the lyrics, I spent time praying and soaking in what Scripture says about God’s voice. I pulled in my friend Aimee Smith to co-write the music and lend her beautiful voice and piano playing to the recording. Our friend Kamyee Ladas made the cover art. We love how it turned out, and we’d love if you could help share the song!
On Form and Content
I had a lot of fun matching form with content in this song, as music offers many more opportunities for this than poetry does. Here are a few examples, followed by the lyrics.
The anti-chorus. Usually a chorus is the loudest and most energetic part of a song. However, because this song is about slowing down to hear God’s voice, we decided to make the chorus the simplest and quietest part of the song, with lots of space and no harmonies. The hope is that it brings us back to a posture of stillness and listening.
“to be still…” Whereas the chorus’ first stanza ends on a long line (“Shepherd, we rejoice to do your will”), that spot in the second stanza is only three words (“to be still”) followed by a long pause—embodying the stillness.
The E9/G# chord on the word “noise” in the chorus gives a dissonant feel that fits the reference to the cacophonous voices all around us. This is only time we use this chord in the song, and I really like the effect.
Your Voice: Lyrics
Chorus
Speak to us, Lord.
Speak to us, Lord.
Help us hear your voice,
your whisper in the noise.
Shepherd, we rejoice to do your will.
Speak to us, Lord.
Speak to us, Lord,
with the voice that calms the waters,
that calls your sons and daughters
to be still—
and hear your voice.
Verse 1
With a word you spoke creation into glory
and wove us each within our mother’s womb.
The author and perfecter of our stories,
you call us forth to new life from the tomb.
With a thousand voices calling us to follow,
telling us who we should be and what to do,
we know this world’s best happiness is hollow.
Our deepest joy is found in only you.
[Chorus]
Verse 2
With a word we call you Abba by your Spirit,
reminding us of who we are in you.
You are speaking to your children—help us hear it.
We long to know your voice and follow you.
[Chorus]
Speak to us, Lord.
Speak to us, Lord.
Here is the chord sheet if you want to play it yourself.
Finally, a few pics of the writing and recording process:
Lovely meditative song that calls us and draws us to “be still and know that he is God.”
This song is like a calm river-like flow that speaks to your heart. And the dissonant chord is everything! Thank you for stewarding your heart to create this worship space.