Worship Archives - From His Presence®

April 12, 2018 By Jamie Rohrbaugh 17 Comments

The Real Reason You Exist (and It’s Not To Worship)

There’s a Christian fallacy out there that’s really popular. That fallacy is the teaching that the reason you exist is to worship God.

There’s only one problem with that: the reason you exist is NOT to worship Him.

“Whaaaat?” (All the religious and spiritual people just gasped in shock.)

That’s right. I know people say that the reason you exist is to worship God. It sounds spiritual. It sounds Biblical. It sounds really noble, and worship is spiritual and noble and Biblical and necessary and wonderful and more. I love to worship and am not belittling worship or saying it’s not important at all; it’s one of the most important things we could ever do.

But worship is not the reason you exist, and the paradigm that it is has caused a lot of pain in the Body of Christ.

Why pain, you ask? [Read more…]

December 6, 2017 By Jamie Rohrbaugh 16 Comments

On Christian Witchcraft

Have you ever noticed that Christians do certain things out of habit, or because the activity sounds really spiritual?

Yes? I have too. As a matter of fact, I think some forms of worship fit in this category.

Last year, when the Lord was bringing me into greater understanding about His constant presence (He is with us everywhere and all the time), I started to notice something about Christian worship:

We spend an awful lot of time trying to get God to come.

No, seriously. Pay attention next time you are in a worship service. There are a lot of songs out there that do this. I used to think most of these songs were great.

But then I started noticing the problem.

So many songs ask God to come. But yet, if we are worshipping the God of Heaven–God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit–then He is already here.

Nevertheless, we think that if we sing three fast songs, and three slow songs–all of which ask Him to come–then at the end of those six songs, He’ll magically appear. We’re hoping that, somewhere before the outtro of Song #6, we’ll get knocking knees and teary eyes and poof! Voila! God enters!

When we do that, we are trying to conjure God up.

I know it sounds tough, but it’s true. And trying to conjure God up is Christian witchcraft. [Read more…]

December 5, 2017 By Jamie Rohrbaugh 10 Comments

Reclaiming the Wonder of Christmas

Have you ever felt guilty about celebrating Christmas because there are so many naysaying, doom-and-glooming, “Christmas is a pagan holiday” people out there? If so, you’re not alone … and I wanted to share my story with you today about reclaiming the wonder of Christmas.

Here’s my story:

I leaned forward in my seat, caught up by the music coming from the choir and symphony orchestra. It was the church’s annual Christmas concert, and the melodies coming from the stage pulled at my heartstrings. Strangely, though, the music made me both happy and sad at the same time.

You see, I grew up in a very legalistic religious environment.

In that tradition, joy was not a highly-valued character trait. Neither was hope. Instead, the people around me endorsed somber attitudes, doom-and-gloom, and a lot of conspiracy theories. The theology I was taught included the theory that “Christmas is a pagan holiday.” [Read more…]

August 29, 2017 By Jamie Rohrbaugh 2 Comments

How To Release Prophetic Worship (and Make It Easy)

Have you ever wished you could sing a prophetic song, or that you could release prophetic worship in your prayer meeting or church service?

You can!

It’s easy to release prophetic worship when you don’t forget the “prophetic” part. 🙂

Sometimes people get intimidated by prophetic worship because they confuse it with spontaneous worship. Then they put a lot of pressure on themselves to conjure something up. If it doesn’t flow very well, the result is awkward worship … and you might get discouraged if your effort turns out awkwardly.

The good news is: ALL of God’s people can prophesy! And releasing prophetic worship is easy when you remember that the “prophetic” part makes up 50% of the phrase!

To bolster your confidence in prophetic worship, I am releasing a free video teaching today about how to release prophetic worship …

… and how to make it easy. 🙂

Here it is:

This vlog is 28 minutes long. In it, I teach 5 keys that will not only help you with prophetic worship, but also will help you flow in prophecy of any type. These tips will enhance your worship life whether you are on the platform or in the congregation!

By the way, see my blog post here about How To Win In Spiritual Warfare for practical tips about releasing the testimony of Jesus during worship.

After you watch, I’d love to hear from you! Do these tips help encourage you that you, too, can release prophetic worship? Please leave a comment below!

Related resources (these are not affiliate links):

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June 9, 2017 By Jamie Rohrbaugh 22 Comments

3 Things To Do When Depression Overwhelms You

Do you ever struggle with discouragement? Do you feel like depression is overwhelming you?

I have experienced severe depression several times in my life. Before I met Jesus, I was chronically depressed. I had no hope in life at all.

But when I met Jesus and began to receive His love for me, and began to grow in Christ with good, Biblical teaching, that chronic depression left.

But I have still dealt with situational depression, even for extended periods of time.

For example, my husband and I have been paying for three pieces of real estate since the market crash of 2008–over 9 years. The first 2.5 years of that situation, I was terribly depressed. With every mortgage payment–which was wasted money in my opinion–I felt like my dreams were going right down the drain.

I didn’t understand why God would allow this to happen to us.

I knew it would have been so easy for Him to sell that property! So I began to embrace self-pity… and every time I did, it opened the door wide for demons of depression, discouragement, and suicide to attack me.

Yes, you read that right.

I began to hear thoughts in my head saying that I should just end it all, because there was no hope.

Let me be clear that those thoughts are always from the enemy. They are never from God. And I knew that! I rebuked those evil spirits and commanded them to leave me.

But I still embraced self-pity, so the door was open for them, and they didn’t stay gone.

BUT GOD! God always has an answer because He always IS the answer!

Every time I have walked through depression and discouragement, He has come through for me. He has always healed me and set me free, even though I’ve had to walk through some tough stuff.

Are you going through a season of depression right now? If so, would you allow me to share with you the three things that helped me get through–and eventually overcome–the depression I experienced?

1. When depression overwhelms, tell someone everything.

The first time that I was depressed as a Christian, and had those suicidal spirits come against me, I tried to fight it alone for awhile. I was ashamed that I wasn’t stronger, and I didn’t want people to think less of me!

But eventually, it got so bad that I couldn’t handle it anymore.

I wanted to be free from those evil thoughts (that were not my thoughts, but were from the enemy). So I went to an older, wiser friend of mine who was a prayer warrior, and I dumped everything I was going through on her and asked her to pray for me. I was too worn out and discouraged to pray for myself.

So she and another friend prayed for me. They prayed the glory down! God healed me and set me free, and my friends didn’t think less of me (because they loved me).

But, the key here is that my friends were able to pray for me because I was honest and transparent… even about the suicidal thoughts. [Read more…]

December 6, 2016 By Jamie Rohrbaugh 5 Comments

5 Keys to Peace In the Valley: Worship

Awhile back, I went through a storm that took me into one of the deepest times of situational depression I have ever experienced.

It was a financial storm; we had the “privilege” of paying the mortgages on three pieces of real estate for several years, and we were bleeding out financially. It was horrible–one of the deepest valleys through which I have ever walked.

That storm lasted so long that I honestly lost hope, in the middle of that valley, that things would ever get better. But I knew I had to survive it somehow, and I remember the day my attitude changed.

I was at church, and we were worshipping. I was playing djembe in the orchestra at that time. Our orchestra started playing “Wrap Me In Your Arms,” and suddenly I realized:

My God is worthy of my worship whether I like my life circumstances or not.

So I sat the djembe down, lifted both hands to heaven, and began to truly worship from my heart–despite the pain.

That moment will be sealed in my memory forever. It was a game-changer for me. [Read more…]

August 15, 2016 By Jamie Rohrbaugh 3 Comments

Son and Daughter of Thunder, Daniel and Abby McKee

Have you ever heard the joke about how you can really freak out your boss at work if you start ending all your sentences with the words “according to the prophecy”? 🙂 It’s a funny thought, and it tickles me because SO many things are happening in the Body of Christ right now that truly are “according to the prophecy.” The emergence of the sons of thunder and daughters of thunder is one of them.

What are the sons and daughters of thunder?

Around 1990, a prophetic word was released by James Ryle that “sons of thunder” (collectively referring to both sons and daughters of thunder) would rise up and bring massive revival. The sons of thunder are prophetic singers and musicians who will begin releasing their music with the purposeful intention of releasing God’s glory in the place they are singing/playing.

When the sons of thunder release their sound on purpose, the anointing that they carry sits down on the people where they are, releasing glory and impartation. When these people sing and play, people get saved; spontaneous healings break out; and miracles happen–simply under the prophetic sound that they release.

The songs of the sons of thunder literally change the atmosphere where they are.

Because they know what they’re doing and are anointed to do it, their songs lift oppression, deposit anointing, and release glory into the hearts of the hearers AND into the geographic place where they are.

The prophecy is that the sons of thunder will release revival and change on the earth. (The most powerful sermon I know of about the sons of thunder is by Lou Engle, and I placed it below on YouTube if you want to watch it.)

Well, today, I want to introduce you to a son and daughter of thunder: Daniel and Abby McKee.

Daniel and Abby are friends of mine who are amazing, anointed songwriters and worship leaders. Daniel and Abby just released their first EP together, called Higher.

It’s good. And when I say it’s good, I mean: IT’S GOOD. I’ve been playing it over and over. Why is it so good? Because:

They DWELL in the secret place of the Most High (Psalm 91:1), and the songs they write come out of that intimacy with God.
They have given themselves to extensive musical training for many years. They have studied to show themselves approved unto God, as workers who need not be ashamed. (Seriously: they write songs, direct choirs and bands, lead worship, and Abby is a skillful piano player. They are faithful servants of the Most High.)
AND, they know what they’re doing; they’re purposefully releasing glory with their music. They know how to set the atmosphere, and they know how to release their testimony in song–so that’s what their songs do.

SO MUCH of impartation is about knowing what you’re doing! 🙂

Presence seekers, I am telling you about Higher because YOU NEED THESE SONGS. They will release something into your life.

What will they release? These songs are songs of intimate, sold-out, desperate, pour-out-perfume-on-Jesus worship. They will bring you right into the throne room so you can be captivated by the nearness and beauty of Christ.

Higher contains 5 songs, and it’s only $4.95. And if we want Daniel and Abby to keep producing music–which we do, because the music of the sons of thunder is changing a generation–we need to support them so they can. 🙂 Like I said, I’ve been playing this EP over and over. My favorite song is #5, but I’ve been listening to them all again and again. I believe you will too. 🙂

Here’s the link, directly to their EP page, but you can check out their website and story too: http://www.danielandabbymckee.com/#!our-music/ck0q

So. Don’t wait. Would you please go get Higher today? And then sit down and worship Jesus awhile, because He deserves for you to pour out your love on His feet. And Daniel and Abby’s music will help you do just that.

By the way, you can actually see God’s glory sitting on these two just by looking at them. I asked their permission to grab one of their impromptu videos they recorded, just so you can see what I mean. Here it is:

And if you want to get even more fired up, watch Lou Engle talking about the Sons of Thunder prophecy:

That’s it, folks! Go get Daniel and Abby’s EP, Higher, TODAY! You’ll be glad you did!

Don’t miss a thing! Sign up for my free, online equipping program–Presence Seekers University!
You’ll get an email when new content is posted. I’ll also send you exclusive prophetic words, teaching material, and more. You’ll even receive my free, printable blessing cards and my ebook–The Presence Seeker’s Creed–for free when you confirm!

January 14, 2015 By Jamie Rohrbaugh 8 Comments

Dear Christian Who Feels Forgotten, Here’s Step One

Dear Christian who feels forgotten, I see the weariness and discouragement in your eyes. I understand. I’ve been there.

There was a time when I felt very forgotten. My heart burned with desire for more—for the big dream I knew He had placed in my heart. Nevertheless, I saw no progress toward my dream.

I was seeking God faithfully and serving faithfully. My heart was passionate for God and fully engaged in everything I did. All the while, however, my dream was burning like a fire in my bones. I desperately wanted to see it happen.

You may be there too. You may know that God has placed you where you are. You may love God with your whole heart. You may be serving eagerly with your whole heart. Yet, deep in your spirit, you yearn for the “more” God has promised you.

If you feel forgotten, you are not alone.

I asked my email subscribers two questions in a special email yesterday:

“Do you ever feel forgotten–either by God or by people?” and
“Do you dream of “more”–of seeing more fruit from your labor, more opportunity?”

And I received droves upon droves of responses.

Of the people that responded, there were four or five folks who said they did not feel forgotten; or else had just been healed from feeling forgotten.

But all the rest said yes, yes, and yes again.

This breaks my heart for you, because I’ve been there. I spent many years feeling forgotten and overlooked in every way. I felt that verse about “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12) deeply, but it was the first part–the hope deferred–that was the reality of my existence.

And I wasn’t having fun.

But finally, when I couldn’t stand it any more, that agony of hope deferred drove me to my knees before the Lord in a new way.

I knew God knows me intimately, but I had never talked with Him about some of these things before. So I bared my soul and confessed the deepest concerns and desires of my heart. [Read more…]

December 5, 2014 By Jamie Rohrbaugh Leave a Comment

Your Church’s Worship Service Starts With …

Did you know that there’s a secret ingredient that can make your church’s worship service great?

An ingredient that can even ruin your church’s worship service if it’s missing?

It’s true. There is.

That secret ingredient is actually found in the phrase “your church’s worship service.” You don’t have to look for it. It’s there … right in the first three letters of that phrase: [Read more…]

November 21, 2014 By Jamie Rohrbaugh 3 Comments

My Top 10 Favorite Songs For Intercession

I love to pray to music. It’s easy and fun, and anybody can do it. It’s especially fun when the song is MADE for intercession. And if you need some suggestions for fun, musical intercession, I’ve got ’em.

Here are my top 10 favorite songs for intercession, in no particular order:

(The links and widget below are my affiliate links, which means if you purchase any of these songs from Amazon, I’ll get a small commission at no additional cost to you. And by the way, the Amazon widget won’t show up on mobile, but the links will work.) [Read more…]