It started out somewhere between a hum and a long “ooh”. It felt like my body was trying to breathe out some stress. It felt good. I did it again. Then it started coming out at different pitches. Then it became more melodic. More types of sounds, different notes and rhythms.

It started sounding like a song, but with words that weren’t English and a melody like nothing I’d ever heard before. And it didn’t repeat itself, neither the words nor the melody. It just kept creating itself as it went. I’d never experienced anything quite like it. I knew I was praising God, but it also felt like he was in the music with me, creating it as we sang.

This happened three days ago. I was in the car, driving back from having coffee with a friend, having a really sweet time in the Spirit. When I got home I promptly forgot all about it. Until today.

Another friend in Europe just returned from a prayer retreat and told me about his encounter with the Trinity. The Holy Spirit started singing with notes he’d never heard before. Jesus joined in, singing a completely different song, and the Father, and some angels. All singing differently but together. He’d also never experienced anything like it.

That’s when I remembered what happened to me. We looked up the time-zone difference and realized this new singing experience happened to both of us at the same time.

I often wonder whether these fleeting experiences are of more relevance than what we concretely put our time and attention toward. Meditating on things we don’t understand may yield more fruit than worrying about things we can’t control. What was God up to? Why did he remind me? What a glorious invitation into the spiritual realm.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. – Psalm 40:3