“Miracle Power” is such a cool song. The creative chord structure and the exciting dropouts on the choruses pulled me in and wouldn’t get out of my head! This 2022 single from We The Kingdom is also featured on their self-titled album. It’s co-written by the five members of the band, Andrew Bergthold, Ed Cash (he’s everywhere!), Franni Cash, Martin Cash, and Scott Cash. Let’s dive into this groovy celebration of God’s power in our lives and ask: will it worship?

Focus

The focus of “Miracle Power” is (as you might expect) God’s power. Specifically, we’re focusing on our hope in Jesus to answer us in power when we call on him from the midst of life’s difficulties.

This song uses a lot of “I” language and functions a little like a testimony song. It’s saying, “Here are my struggles, and here’s how I call on Jesus in the midst of them,” and it invites every listener to participate in that same story. When we talk about God in “Miracle Power,” it’s to express hope in him and celebrate our relationship to him.

This song clearly identifies God the Father, Jesus Christ his Son, and the Holy Spirit. Bonus points for including the whole Trinity!

Lyric Analysis

VERSES 1 & 2
Here we identify who the song is for: the lost, lonely, broken, afraid, hurting, addicted, and troubled. The verses are pointing forward to the chorus, offering it as an answer for all the problems mentioned in the verses.

Verse 1 uses third person language while verse 2 is written in first person. This makes the song both an invitation and a personal expression of faith. It offers us an opportunity to look inward and encourage our own hearts, and also to look outward to invite others into the power of God.

CHORUS
“I believe in miracle power, in a wonder-working God . . . When it feels like I won’t make it, I call on Jesus”

The chorus functions like a miniature creed, a corporate expression of what we believe about God. Roughly half of the lines describe God’s power while the other half identify the persons of the Trinity and our relationship to each.

This song takes a very open, ecumenical approach to God’s power. We proclaim that we believe in it, we declare that God works wonders, but then we don’t explain much what those wonders are. Even a cessationist can sing this song confidently since the fourth line says that God is working wonders in my heart. I love this line because it reminds us that we shouldn’t just be looking for external manifestations of God’s power, but we should seek his transformative work in our own hearts. I usually dislike vague theology in songs, but I think lack of specificity is a strength here. Many different church groups hold different views on the miraculous, and this song affirms God’s power in the present without taking a divisive stance on what form it has to take. Even though we don’t know how Jesus will intervene in our lives, we know that he answers when we call.

The other half of the chorus tells us how we relate to God in each of the persons of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit fills us (Acts 13:52). The Father loves us as his children (Rom. 8:15). Jesus calls us his friends (John 15:15). I love it when songs articulate trinitarian theology, and this song does it clearly, simply, and without feeling clunky.

The central theme of the song is articulated in the last line: no matter hopeless we feel, we can call on the name of Jesus and he will hear us. In John 14:14, Jesus says, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” I think it’s worth adding a caveat here; several passages of Scripture teach that God doesn’t listen to our prayers if we are doing evil or rebelling against him (1 Pet. 3:12). I don’t think this is a flaw of the song; the verses and bridge clearly position the singer as one who is trying to seek God and believe in him, even when it’s a struggle.

VERSE 3
This verse presents praise as an antidote to suffering. Like many heroes from Scripture, the songwriter faces struggles and pain. My devotional reading today is from Psalm 6, where David says “I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears,” and “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.” So we’re in good company when we say that sometimes it’s just hard being human.

The next two lines give me a little bit of hesitation. Praising God is an excellent way to deal with discouragement, perhaps even the best way. I just don’t want anyone to get the idea that as soon as you sing “hallelujah,” all your worries, fears, and problems will evaporate instantly.

BRIDGE
I love the bridge. It’s short, simple, and hopeful. It also provides clarification for any misunderstanding of verse 3. It expresses that we face uncertainty in life, and we will walk through darkness, but we can still trust that God is in control. We can still trust in his power, and we can still teach our souls to sing to him through discouragement and pain. The words remind me of Zechariah’s song prophesying of Jesus’ birth, “because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high” (Luke 1:78).

Accessibility

The lyrics of this song are very accessible, even to brand new believers and visitors. They’re self-explanatory and don’t depend on a lot of Bible knowledge for understanding. The verses use plain language that connects to people’s everyday experiences and struggles. The choruses use equally plain language to celebrate the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The bridge is a simple, poetic description of hope in God.

The melody of this song falls almost perfectly in the classic recommended C-to-C range for congregational singing. I think there’s one optional note on verse 2 (“say good bye”) that goes up to a D. Rhythmically, the verses and chorus are catchy and easy to learn. The bridge is more flowy and tricky, but since the singing is so free and slow here, the congregation can still follow along.

Music

“Miracle Power” is super fun to play and sing. The chord structure changes things up with regular use of the flat seventh chord, but it’s not so weird that it’s difficult to learn or understand. There are also a couple of really fun and distinctive walk-downs on the instrumentals; they’re kind of tricky, so make sure your instrumentalists know about and practice those. Similarly, the final chorus has a really cool walk-up halfway through that adds a ton of energy. The songwriters also employed dropouts effectively to keep this song exciting.

Conclusions

Will it worship? Yes!

I definitely believe in “Miracle Power.” The words are clear and fresh, and they celebrate God’s saving power in a personal way. This song focuses our understanding of miracles on the wonders God works in our hearts rather than flashy external displays. The music is fun and catchy, and I have no doubt that my congregation will latch onto this one as soon as we start singing it this week.

Image by Cynthea Magana from Unsplash.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.