I can never forget my high school days in boarding house. Back then, we had a hymn book called Songs of Praise. Every morning during assembly, students and teachers would sing one or two hymns from it. Heaven help anyone who showed up without their own copy – you’d be punished right there in front of the whole school! At the time, it felt a bit extreme.
In fact, there were two officially recognized hymn books: Songs of Praise and Ancient and Modern. Every student was required to own at least one for morning devotion. One day, we summoned the courage to ask our school principal why such a strict rule existed in what was supposed to be an academic environment. His answer stunned us.
He explained that while there are many valid ways to pray, nothing compares to praise and worship. Then he quoted the words of St. Augustine: “He who sings, prays twice.” He added that education isn’t just about academics, it’s about building character. And how, he asked, can character be formed if students aren’t taught how to draw closer to God?
His words gave us a new perspective. But what shocked me even more was discovering that the beloved hymn Amazing Grace played a powerful role in the abolition of the slave trade. That’s when I truly began to grasp the transformative power of music.
The lyrics of Amazing Grace are deeply moving, echoing themes of conviction, redemption, and spiritual awakening:
Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
The Lord hath promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we first begun.
The writer of this powerful hymn was John Newton, a former slave trader turned passionate abolitionist. Born in London in 1725, Newton’s life was marked by contradiction and transformation. At one point, he was even enslaved himself before eventually becoming the captain of a slave ship, profiting from the brutal trafficking of human lives.
But everything changed in 1748. During a fierce storm at sea, with his ship on the verge of sinking, Newton cried out to God. That moment of desperation marked the beginning of his spiritual awakening. Years later, while severely ill on another voyage, he once again turned to God in prayer. These experiences began to open his eyes to the inhumanity he had been a part of.
In 1764, Newton became an Anglican priest and began using his voice to speak out against slavery. He mentored and inspired William Wilberforce, who became a key figure in the fight to abolish the slave trade in Britain. Wilberforce once considered leaving politics to enter the ministry, but Newton urged him to stay in government and use his influence for good.
In 1788, Newton published Thoughts Upon the Slave Trade, where he wrote these haunting words:
“It will always be a subject of humiliating reflection to me that I was once an active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders.”
This story reminds us that music isn’t just melody but it’s ministry. It convicts, heals, and transforms. Just as my teachers insisted we all bring our hymn books to school, churches today continue to invest deeply in worship music because they understand its spiritual power.
St. Augustine once said, “Singing is praying twice.” If that’s true, how often do we truly sing? How often do we worship with our whole heart and voice?
In music, there is healing. There is conviction. There is transformation.
So let us sing more, not just for melody’s sake, but for the divine power it carries to draw us nearer to God and change us from the inside out.
Emmanuel Adigwe writes on diverse subjects.
