In 1 Samuel 16:14-23 we see that Saul was delivered from an evil spirit, "refreshed" and "made well" when David ministered to him on the harp. We don't even know for sure if David sang anything; there's no evidence that he did anything other than play at the time. This raises a couple of interesting questions, namely, why would David's music cause Saul to be healed, and can we expect music to have such a part in healing ministry today?

It is obvious that harp music in and of itself does not heal people. Otherwise, there would be a lot of people making big money playing the harp and healing the sick. Clearly, the anointing on David made the difference. Although David was not king yet, he had already been anointed by Samuel and clearly had a strong anointing operating in his life. Thus, God used anointed music, played by an anointed musician, to minister healing to Saul.


There were singing prophets in the Old Testament, and when they sang, the anointing fell on Saul. Here is the account in 1 Samuel 10:5-6: "After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them: and they shall prophesy: And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man." This came to pass in verse 10 of that chapter: "And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them."


Music was instrumental in bringing other manifestations of God as well as healing. You probably know about Jehoshaphat's army of praisers who went before the army and defeated the enemy just by praising God. Then in Solomon's temple, when the musicians played in one accord, the "glory cloud" came in and at first the ministers could not stand up, and finally no one could even make their way into the room because the anointing was so strong. That should provoke you to expect things, given that our new covenant has been declared more glorious and excelling the old in glory (see 2 Cor 3)!

There is no Scripture in the New Testament where music was involved in healing. Jesus did not bring a praise and worship team or even a special-music singer with him, and he got along just fine, as did Peter, Paul, Philip, and others who had no musicians with them. It's the anointing, not music, that destroys the yoke of bondage in people's lives. Music is one way that anointing can be transferred from one person to another, but this is not discussed in the New Testament.


I'm a musician and do either preachy concerts or unusually musical preaching, depending on how you look at it. I don't want you to develop a doctrine on my experience, but I have seen people healed when I was just singing and playing the piano, or even just playing the piano. I usually wasn't expecting it at the time; it just happened. Why did the anointing get on people like that through the music? I don't know, but I'm not complaining! I would say that God will use whatever you have to offer him for his honor and glory, and that includes musical talent. Other ministers out there have had similar experiences when they ministered in music. It is not the music itself, but rather the anointing of God on the music, that makes the difference.

One reason I don't want to make too big a deal about this is that some musicians get swelled heads and think they're the main people God is using today. Hey, just remember that Jesus and his followers got all their results without any music! You don't need music to have miracles. Not only did they not have music ministries, they did not have altar calls as we know them, church buildings and building funds, Sunday School classes as we know them, greeters, and many other modern church trappings. These things are not wrong to have, but when it comes down to it, it's the anointing that matters. If you have everything else without the anointing, people will still not be set free. So pray for the anointing to manifest and expect it!


If you are in a position to be playing music at a healing service, you should be aware of some things. One minister put it well: "Half of flowing in the anointing is paying attention!" That should be self-explanatory. Don't get off in the ozone with God on the platform; you are ministering to the people as well as to the Lord. What songs should you play? Whatever the minister asks for! Some like fast songs, some like worshipful songs, some like run-the-aisles-and-swing-from-the-rafters music and some like just soft instrumental music. Some prefer tapes. Some just want to do their own music, and some don't even like to have any music at all because they find it distracting. If you cooperate with the minister, you will make him more comfortable and thus more able to flow in his anointing. No songs are right or wrong as long as they're Christian and not flaky or anything. Don't get personally offended about song choices. You're there to serve! Come ready to "go with the flow." The only sure way to learn these things is to do them and learn from others, as well as from your own mistakes. Also, as you work with different ministers, you get used to what they like and don't like, and it's easier.


The goal is to lead people (not lecture them or beat them) into worship and to set a reverent atmosphere where the Lord is glorified. This will make it easier for the gifts of the Spirit to flow, because the gifts of the Spirit exalt Jesus (if they're genuine manifestations). If everyone is already exalting Jesus, you won't have to change gears to have the gifts of the Spirit operate. You'll just go from one way of exalting Jesus to another.

The best ways to flow effectively in music are to (1) practice and (2) live a lifestyle of praise and worship when you're not in a service. Then it can come from your heart instead of being a big show that you put on at church. The anointing will not leave just because you hit a wrong note. Actually, it won't leave by itself if you hit a whole lot of wrong notes, but what happens is that the people get distracted and they stop hooking up with it, and the flow stops.


Music done well can be a tremendous blessing to a speaker who is unsure about which way to go in a service. As happened with Elisha, as the musician plays, the power of God can come on the minister and he can get clear direction. You should expect this sort of thing to happen. On the other hand, music poorly done is the shortcut to ruining an entire service. I've seen both. Another purely natural benefit of music is that it can keep the flow of the service going while the minister takes a mini time-out to seek God about what to do next.

In short, music can really enhance the anointing and keep the right atmosphere in the service or it can destroy the service. But the gifts of the Spirit can operate without it, so don't blow it out of proportion.