Tehilla Worship

This is perhaps not an original word, but one I was taught by wise leaders in the worship ministry and one I have found true myself.


Tehillah!  I was perhaps ten years old when I first heard the word.  No, not tequila, the alcoholic beverage and song, but the Hebrew word tehillah, which means a spontaneous new song.  This is a song that you make up as you go on the spot, an ad-lib song, one that's not rehearsed.  If you attend a church where they use this kind of praise, it's the portion where they stop singing the words on the projector and start singing whatever comes out.  Sometimes it's a variation of the words of the song or completely different.
I think some people might wonder why the worship team does that.  The answer is in Psalm 22:3.  I like how the King James puts it:

Psalm 22:3But you are holy, O you that inhabit the praises of Israel.

The word praise right there is the word tehillah.  God inhabits, or sits enthroned on our tehillah praise.  The spontaneous song.
If you do a word study for praise, you will find out that there are seven different kinds of praise, but specifically the spontaneous song is mentioned here.  Apparently, this word is also used in Psalm 34:1, 40:3, 66:2, and 2 Chronicles 20:22, but that is what I found with an internet search.
I don't know about you, but when I go to worship God, I certainly want to create an atmosphere that brings His presence.  I have found over years of worshipping that one of the best ways to encounter God or to catch his notice (that's the best way I can find to put it) is to sing a spontaneous song.  Play a chord or chord progression, and sing what comes to mind.
If you are new to the form of praise, you will probably feel stupid at first.  But once you practice spontaneous worship (ha... sounds like an oxymoron, but you can practice by doing), you will gain confidence and not only touch God's heart but be refreshed.
Of course, this isn't a formula of "How to Bring the Presence of God".  There's definitely lifestyle issues that have to be addressed, heart-issues, relationships even.  But this is certainly an avenue of pursuing God's heart that I've taken, and have had many rich encounters.  When I say, rich, I mean velvet-rich.  
The best thing about God is that He is so big that you can experience this awesomeness yourself.  Need new life, or want the presence of God?  Sing a tehillah song!