Waiting On God
Recently I talked to a person who had written a number of songs and had been praying to God for the next step. I asked how long have you been praying? The reply was "About 2 years". I then asked has God shown you the next step? The reply was "No". My next question was, What have you done in the past 2 years to find out what the next step is? the reply was, "Nothing, I'm just waiting on God. I informed the person the next step was to make a demo recording of the songs.
As a music producer, I asked songwriters, singers and musicians what they want to do with their songs or musical gift. Often I will hear statements such as; I'm open to whatever God has for me to do", "I'm waiting on God". "I don't want to get ahead of God" or I'm praying for God directions". These statements are valid, but what the individual is actually saying and doing, is making excuses, being indecisive and ignoring responsibility. If god has given you a gift, talent or ability to do something, He expect for you to use it, exploring every possible means to accomplish His purpose for your life. Yes, God will open and close doors, but you must be willing to walk to those doors with confidence and boldness, understanding and knowing what you want to do and accomplish.
When one states, I'm waiting on God, essentially the are saying, God you do the research for me. I want to use the gift, but I'm too lazy to find out what all I can to, so please tell me. When God actually brings someone to help and assist them to the next step. The person makes excuses , such as "I don't want to get ahead of God, so let me pray about it". Usually the person is afraid to take the next step because it requires getting out of the comfort zone, making a commitment or requires finances. The gift and talent will go unused, the person will concede stating, "it wasn't God's timing. Yes, this could be be very true. but usually the person is not prepared and lacks the understanding to go to the next step. Luke 14:28-28 (Living Bible) states; "but don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction on a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if he has enough money to pay the bills. Otherwise he might complete only the foundation before running out of funds, and then how everyone would laugh.
It is very important to know and understand how the music industry works. It is also important to improve you craft. By attending workshops, seminars and reading books, one will be able to choose the many different options available and sound decisions as well as having a sense of direction. As a songwriter or lyricist, it's important to get you song from you notebook to a demo to be heard. Here are 3 steps to getting started in making a demo of your song. (1) Call recording studios and inquire of someone to set lyrics to music or make a music track of your song and also the studio rates. (2) Begin to set aside money to finance the project. (3) Start the project as soon as possible, don't wait, even if it's only one song.
Ray L. Baker / Producer Copyright 1998