Almost a year ago, my team “Hephzibah” got the opportunity to play worship music in a bar on one of the most concentrated streets of prostitutes in the world, located in Pattaya, Thailand. When we began playing, the bar was mostly empty. By the time we finished, every table was full. People were stopping in the street to listen.
I finally got around to recording the full song on my little PC (so please bear with the sound quality and my non-existent recording equipment!).
Here’s a small excerpt from the original blog, “The Bar Audition,” which includes the lyrics. Enjoy!
. . . . .
My hand was shaking as I wrote because I knew the lyrics were not from me, and I knew they were meant to be shared with many people; this song was for prostitutes and for the men who came to use the prostitutes.
Once my teammates returned an hour later, God had given me all the lyrics, the melody, and the chords for the song. I waited a few days to tell my team members about it merely because I was afriad. I didn’t want to sing it in front of them, let alone in front of a bunch of men and women in prostitution.
For the next several days, God kept speaking the word “bar” to me. He reminded me of the second time I walked down Walking Street and my team member Carmen looked me in the eyes and said, “We should play in a bar.” While I considered it for a moment, I quickly brought myself back to reality. The Christian band, Blue Tree (who wrote the song “God of This City”), was able to play in a bar on Walking Street, only under the condition that 100 people would come with them to buy drinks from the bar. I told God that I didn’t know 20 people in Pattaya, let alone 100 people that would commit to going to a bar while I played a song. Regardless of how many people I knew, God would not let up on the bar idea.
So on Wednesday night, my team walked the length of Walking Street, praying for God to reveal which bar He wanted us to pursue. Once we reached the end of the street, we discovered that none of us had felt any specific leading. My teammate Nikki suggested we ask every bar that had an area for a band to play. So that is what we did…
The second bar we asked didn’t give us a phone number, but gave us an audition on Friday at 10pm.
. . . . .
These are the words that flooded the bar…
My life feels like a game with no prize at the end.
Without a prize, am I just living to die?
I feel like a fish caught in a net, thrashing back and forth, trying to break free.
But the net entangles me, slowly taking away my life moment by moment.
I need a rescuer, I need a healer, I need a Savior.
Each day passes by with temporary highs that only solve the pain for a short while.
I search for love, I search for worth, but all I find is emptiness.
There’s got to be a way out.
There’s got to be more, more than this life I’m living.
I need a rescuer, I need a healer, I need a Savior.
You’re the only one who can tear the net and set me free.
Regardless of my past, you open your arms to me and call me “child”.
Your name is love, your name is forgiveness,
your name is hope, your name is Jesus.
I will live in your freedom.
I will stand in your mighty strength.
I will walk in your perfect love.
I need a rescuer, I need a healer, I need a Savior.
