I’ve recently been thinking a lot about sound waves. Of course I teach science to sixth graders, so it might seem like that is what set it all in motion, but no.

Actually, one of my friends sent a YouTube link for Louie Giglio and a segment called “Sounds of Stars and Whales Singing Praises to God.” He is a brilliant man. The video is nearly eleven minutes long, but I was absolutely blown away when I watched it and heard it.

Did you know that whales “sing?” Did you know that the Earth “sings?” Did you know that stars and distant galaxies emit sounds?

When whale songs were first recorded, and someone realized that it was more than just a noise they were making, people were astonished. Imagine the leviathans of the deep speaking to each other in song! A great deal of research has gone into studying these songs of whales since then.

Our strongest telescopes, such as the Hubble, have pierced the mysteries of space to allow scientists to capture images of stars and galaxies far, far away. But radial telescopes now also pick up sounds from the universe.

This revelation about the significance of sound waves has been heavy on my mind. I even dreamed that there was a new secret weapon that could use precise sound waves to destroy living things inside of a structure, but leave the structure intact. So, people could be destroyed, without destroying property. That is a mindboggling thought. Could the flocks of birds, and swarms of fish that showed up dead for no apparent reason a few years back have been the result of some type of military weaponry test based on sound waves and selective frequencies that affected a specific creature?

Of course that was a dream from a vivid imagination, but I am convinced that there is a great deal more to learn about the power of sound waves and that future scientists will make amazing discoveries in that area.

This evening, I’ve been listening to the songs of plants on the Internet. There seems to be a lot of interest about what type of sound waves are given off by a wide variety of living things. If you have time to listen to any of these sites, it won’t take long to be convinced that living things do give off sound frequencies and variances that have qualities a lot like music.

I couldn’t help thinking about the verses in the Bible that talk about praising God. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” What if all of nature has the ability to praise God; the ability to praise the Creator?

Psalm 150:1-6 says “Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.” (KJV)

Psalm 95: 1- 6 “O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.” (KJV)

Psalm 100 “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.”

Jesus declared that if the people kept silent and were not allowed to praise God, that even the rocks would cry out.

What if every created thing emits a sound all of its own, that when combined with all the other sounds produces a constant source of praise unto God?

From the sounds of the stars and planets in space, the song of whales from the depth of the oceans, the chirping of crickets and birdsong, to the babbling melody of a brook — what if all were created with a specific place of harmony in the symphony of nature to worship God? What would it sound like if we could stand on the edge of eternity and hear the orchestration of all things wise and wonderful, of all things great and small?

Isn’t that exciting just to think about?

I love to sing. I may sound to some like the croaking of a frog, and to others like the wind in the trees. But in God’s ears, I know that He hears my heart and my best efforts through song in praising Him are pleasing to Him. We are not all called to be celebrated vocalists, but we are all called to be worshippers.

Every culture produces its own kind of music. People of different faiths from around the globe produce songs, hymns, or chants to express their religious perspectives about God.

There are literally hundreds of Bible verses that deal with singing, praise, worship, joy and thanksgiving. There are so many references, that it is very clear to me that this is an important part of Christianity and a vital element of our relationship to God.

There is a recent Southern gospel song that declares, “Ain’t no rock, gonna praise in my place. As long as I’m alive, I’ll glorify His holy name.”