OCTOBER 2026 GLAD TIDINGS 9 The Keen Agers "O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works." Psalms 71:17 Your Worship Is Doing More than You Think August 9, 2026 What I'm about to share is part of what I have been writing for a new essay that I've been working on for my unit on the exegesis of the Psalms. I've been learning so much and just had to share this little nugget... The Speech Act Theory There is a fascinating idea in philosophy called speech-act theory. It was developed by a philosopher named J.L. Austin, and the heart of it is this: Some words do not just describe something. They actually do something. Think about it. When a pastor says, "I now pronounce you husband and wife," those words are not merely describing a wedding. They are enacting a marriage. When you say, "I promise," you are not narrating a promise. You are making one. The words themselves perform the action. Demonstration in the Psalms And as I have been studying Psalm 96, I have come to see that the writers of the psalms understood this long before anyone gave it a name. The song is not just an expression of worship. The song is doing something. And theologians like Thiselton, who applied speech-act theory to the Psalms, would agree. So, take a look at Psalm 96. It does not say, "We will sing to the Lord." It commands: Sing. Declare. Ascribe. Bring. Come. Fall down. Tremble. Action after action after action. The psalm is not telling you about worship. It is pulling you into worship and accomplishing something in the singing of it. And then it goes further. The psalmist turns to creation itself and says, "Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound... let the fields be jubilant... let all the trees of the forest sing for joy" (Psalm 96:11–12 NIV). It is as though the song that begins in one human heart becomes so full of God's reality that it spills out past the walls of the room. The heavens cannot help but answer. Creation joins in. This kind of song doesn't just do something to you; it does something to creation. Your Worship Shifts Things in a Significant Way This is not poetic exaggeration. The psalm is showing us what happens when worship is rightly understood. Your song does something. It enacts something. It moves something in the unseen places, and it changes the landscape, inside you and around you. So here is what I want you to sit with today. This idea is so incredible, and one that those in the ancient Near East understood. When you next open your mouth to sing to God, you are not just describing how you feel about Him. You are not just performing a duty. You are participating in something that does something. Your worship is not background music to your life. It is a holy act that shifts things in a significant way. God knows this, and that is why the command is to sing. It's not simply because He deserves our praise (which He of course does), but it's also because the song doesn't just describe, it enacts. I don't know about you, but that is absolutely mind-blowing to me. When we worship, there's so much more going on than singing a tune. And I think if we really believed that, we would sing differently. We would sing even when we did not feel like it, because we would know that the song is not waiting on our feelings to catch up. So all of that to say... if you feel lost, if you really don't know what to do, your worship is doing more than you think. One of the best things you can do to change your situation is worship. u Permission Granted/Elijah List Roma Waterman HeartSong Prophetic Alliance Email: click here Websites: www.romawaterman.com | training.romawaterman.com Roma Waterman has been one of Australia's foremost Christian artists for over twenty years and has traveled the globe leading worship and teaching on the prophetic, worship leading and songwriting. Her passion is not just to release Heaven's song over the nations, but to teach others to do the same. ROMA WATERMAN Melbourne, VIC, Australia Texas Meteorologist Speaks Out After Viral Prayer: ‘The Spirit of God Came Over Me’ TRÉ GOINS-PHILLIPS/CBN 07-23-2026 The first time Bill Taylor prayed live on air happened six or seven years ago. “I do remember in the hallway the next day, my boss was walking and [we] crossed paths and he said, ‘Great job last night; I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback,'” the San Antonio meteorologist recalled. “And I said, ‘Thank you. Thank you very much.’ And that was it.” Those on-air prayers have happened a number of times since — including last week, when the Texas Hill Country was facing another catastrophic storm almost one year to the day after devastating floods claimed the lives of more than 139 people, including nearly 30 — mostly children — at Camp Mystic, a summer camp for girls. With that not-too-distant nightmare in mind, Taylor, chief meteorologist for KENS 5, the local CBS News affiliate, said he felt compelled to pray for the safety of those in the path of what looked to be an impending tornado. “The Spirit of God came over me and said, ‘Pray,'” he said. “And I just started. … Then I went just right back into that live coverage, and praise God that He delivered, as He always does. He’s faithful, and we were protected from what maybe could have been a lot worse.” In all, the death toll for these latest floods is two and state crews rescued more than 270 people while local officials in Uvalde and Zavala rescued more than 300. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said about 125 people were transferred to shelters in the Uvalde area. Nearly 600 homes and 100 businesses across Kerr, Kendall, and Comal Counties were damaged or destroyed. CBN’s Operation Blessing is on the ground in Kerr County, which sustained the bulk of the destruction, to assist in the recovery effort. In “times of trouble,” Taylor said, it’s important to remember God is “like any father who wants his child to come sit in his lap and be comforted.” “When we ask [God] for that protection, when we lean into Him,” the weatherman said, “He’s our refuge and our strength and comfort.”... See Bill Taylor - Page 16
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