Willie Neal J. & The Gospel Keynotes 4:18:25 6.23 PM

Photo: Spotify Promo Card
Story by: Gail Nobles
Intro | Keyboardist: Gail Nobles

Alright, lemme tell you something about this Gospel Keynotes tune, "If You Pray, Don't Worry, and If You Worry, Don't Pray." Now, this ain't just some pretty little melody to tap your feet to. This is a *powerhouse* of spiritual advice, wrapped up in a down-home package.

We're talkin' about a cornerstone of faith here. And that first verse? That's the foundation.

"Fret Not Thyself Because of Evil Doers. Neither Be Thou Envious Against the Workers of Iniquity."

See, that's *easy* to sing, but *hard* to live. We all been there, right? You see somebody cuttin' corners, lyin', cheatin', and they seem to be gettin' ahead. The flesh *screams* at you. "Why am I playin' by the rules? Why am I breakin' my back when they're gettin' rich off bein' crooked?"

But the song's tellin' you, flat out: *Don't even go there.* Don't waste your energy on envy. Don't let bitterness take root.  Those "evil doers," those "workers of iniquity"... they're on borrowed time. Their success is temporary, built on sand. Your peace, your righteousness, that's what lasts.

And that's the important part of it, see?  Worry is born of a lack of trust.  It's letting fear and doubt cloud your vision.  It's thinking you gotta control everything, fix everything, figure everything out yourself.  And that leads to trouble.

Now, let’s get to the important part of it: You think you can pray but then worry, then you're double minded. God can't move in that space.

"Commit Thy Way Unto the Lord and Thy God. And He Shall Bring It To Pass Before Thee.”

"Commit Thy Way."  What does that *mean*?

It means surrender. It means letting go of that death grip you got on your own plans.  It means trustin' God's got a bigger picture than you could ever imagine. It means pray about everything and worry about nothing. It means having the mind set to release it.  Commit.

Commit your *relationships* to Him. Commit your *finances*. Commit your *health*.  Commit your *dreams*, even the ones that seem impossible.  Commit your *fears*, your *doubts*, your *weaknesses*.  *Everything*.

And that last part? "And He Shall Bring It To Pass Before Thee.”

This is what this verse is saying: If you truly commit your way to God, He will *make it happen*.  Not maybe. Not possibly. He *will* bring it to pass. Before you even start to see the answer, he's going to bring it to pass.

But, here's the thing you gotta understand about this song: It's not magic. It's not a guarantee of a trouble-free life. But it's a promise that *even in the midst of trials*, if you keep your heart fixed on God, if you pray in faith and trust in His plan, He *will* see you through.

I’m Gail Nobles and you’re listening to a show about the gospel greats today’s topic Willie Neal Johnson and The Gospel Keynotes.



About the great gospel singers.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today's topic Willie Neil Johnson and the Gospel keynotes. If
you pray, don't worry. All right, let me tell you
something about the gospel keynote's tune. If you pray, don't worry,

(00:23):
and if you worry, don't pray. Now, this ain't just
some pretty little melody to tap your feet to. This
is a power house of spiritual advice wrapped up in
a down home package. We're talking about a cornerstone of
faith here. And that first verse, that's the foundation. Fred

(00:49):
not thyself because of evildoo us, neither be thou win
me us against the workers ovey nick wit pee. See
that's easy to sing, but hard to live. We all
been there, right. You see somebody cutting corners, lying, cheating,

(01:12):
and they seem to be getting ahead. The flesh screams
at you, why am I playing by the rules? Why
am I breaking my back when they're getting rich off
being crooked? But the songs telling you flat out, don't
even go there. Don't waste your energy on envy. Don't

(01:33):
let bitterness take root. Those evildoers, those workers of iniquity,
they're on borrowed time. Their success is temporary, built on sand.
Your peace your righteousness. That's what lasts, and that's the
important part of it. See, worry is born of a

(01:56):
lack of trust. It's letting fear and doubt cloud your vision.
It's thinking you gotta control everything, fix everything, figure everything
out yourself, and that leads to trouble. Now, let's get
to the important part of it. You think you can pray,

(02:17):
but then worry, Then you're double minded. God can't move
in that space. Commit thy way unto the Lord and
thy God, and he shall bring it to pass before thee.
Commit thy way. What does that mean? It means surrender.

(02:38):
It means letting go of that death grip you got
on your own plans. It means trusting God's got a
bigger picture than you could ever imagine. It means pray
about everything and worry about nothing. It means having the
mindset to release. Commit. Commit your relationships to him, Commit

(03:06):
your finances, commit your help, Commit your dreams, even the
ones that seem impossible. Commit your fears, your doubts, your weakness,
everything and that last part, and He shall bring it
to pass before thee. This is what this verse is saying.

(03:30):
If you truly commit your way to God, he will
make it happen. Not maybe, not possibly, he will bring
it to pass before you even start to see the answer.
He's going to bring it to pass. But here's the
thing you gotta understand about this song. It's not magic.

(03:53):
It's not a guarantee of a trouble free life. But
it's a promise that, even in the mist of trials,
if you keep your heart fixed on God, if you
pray in faith and trusting his plan, he will see
you through. I'm Gail Nobles and you're listening to a
show about the gospel greats. Today's topic Willie Neil Johnson

(04:18):
and the Gospel. Keynotes