On Monday, I awoke to a worship song stuck in my head. I’d heard it at church on Sunday and then again on the radio coming home. So, I made lunch while humming it. I cleaned the house, got the kids’ stuff ready for school, swept the driveway, all while continuing to let it roll around in my mind. I even went to bed singing it. And now, on Monday morning, it was irreparably stuck.

Have you ever had this this happen to you? Have you gotten a song stuck in your head?

In the moment, it might be annoying or frustrating, but perhaps a deeper spiritual purpose can be drawn from this phenomenon. Perhaps God has hardwired us to receive a blessing when we allow His praise to “always be on my lips” (Psalm 34:1).

Worship in the Old Testament was not just a means to connect and grow closer to God. It was spiritual warfare. The Israelite armies would send out worshipers to the frontlines. In the battle of Jericho, for example, God commanded the Israelites not to fight first but to play trumpets and shout (see Joshua 6). Against the Moabites and Ammonites, Jehoshaphat “appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him…as they went out at the head of the army” (2 Chronicles 20:21).

Singing songs of worship—especially on repeat—keeps our hearts and minds focused on God and offers little room for the enemy to sneak in and distract or deceive. It forms a “hiding place” in our hearts where God “protect[s] me from trouble and surround[s] me with songs of deliverance” (Psalm 32:7). So, the next time you get a worship song stuck in your head, instead of getting frustrated about it, let that song of praise be God’s blessing of protection as well as a means to know Him more.

*First published by The Joyful Life Magazine.