Singer Charlie Hall led Biola students in a night of worship at Singspiration on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011.

Charlie Hall brought life, energy and an authentic heart for worship to last Sunday’s Singspiration chapel.

Along with his drummer, Dustin Ragland, Hall led the students in a time of worship focusing on Jesus as the center. He led with some of his more well-known songs such as “Marvelous Light,” “Life Flows from God” and “Center.” Hall interacted with the crowd, encouraging students to raise their hands and to let their hearts sing as he led “We are Yours.”

He shared with the audience his heart for prayer, saying, “I am hungry for God to do something.”

“Give us clean hands and give us pure hearts / Let us not lift our souls to another / Oh, God let us be a generation that seeks / That seeks your face, oh, God of Jacob.” Not only are these words found in Psalm 24:3-6, but they also form a song written by a man who desires to see a generation hungry for God. This man is musician and songwriter Charlie Hall.

Hall’s journey with music

Hall’s music career started out differently than most musicians. Instead of fully pursuing music from the beginning, Hall was greatly involved with his church and local community ministries, which is where his music flowed from originally.

“I want my life to flow out of local ministry and the church and being with people,” Hall said in an interview.

Hall’s music also flows from his own personal seasons of life. His album, “Porch and Altar,” reflects his heart for revival and going into the depths of God, while other albums such as “The Bright Sadness” and “On the Road to Beautiful,” have a more somber feel. These particular recordings are products of his time processing the death of his sister.

Taking time to find the right words

His most recent album, “The Rising,” was released last year and encompasses messages from his previous recordings. Hall commented that this album, which has been nominated for a Dove Award, took about six months to compile and was the hardest to write.

“I really wanted to write songs that were devotional and worship and psalm-like, but the struggle for me always is that I don’t want to use regular words that are in every worship song,” Hall said.

Hall said he usually begins his writing process on songs like “Give Us Clean Hands” by singing the Scripture. His devotional time, which used to consist of any moment in the day, he could find time to stop and think about God, has evolved into a lifestyle of consistently reflecting on God and praising him through singing or praying. “[This has] allowed me to … create lots of moments through the day,” Hall said.

Music breaks down barriers

Hall said his main purpose for his music is to glorify God by “breaking through barriers that exist between God and us.” His hope is that people will be motivated to be more mission-minded. Hall said he had to learn “to quit trying to control all the pieces, [and to] quit having an agenda. Once he figured that out, Hall said he found rest. He emphasized the importance of walking in the fullness of who God has called his people to be.

Students respond to worship with prayer

After Hall finished and dismissed everyone for the night, some students took his call for prayer into action and gathered together to pray.

“I am blessed when we finish a chapel to see students praying afterwards, said assistant Chapel Board chair Kevin Zimmerman, who was responsible for bringing Hall to Biola. “My hope is that chapel would turn students’ hearts towards God.”