British rock band Coldplay have released a new song heralded as their most Christian offering to date.
Premiered at Glastonbury, it’s had a zillion streams on Spotify in the past week and taken up residence in radio stations everywhere.
The three-minute song quotes lines from the Bible, mentions prayer no fewer than thirty seven times.
‘We Pray’ features rapper Little Simz, Nigerian singer Burna Boy, Palestinian-Chilean musician Elyanna and Argentinian singer Tini.
“We pray” doesn’t just point towards a shift in the culture by talking unashamedly about prayer, it actually is in itself a prayer, an articulation to God of yearning for justice, mercy and hope.
At one point Chris Martin, who has ‘God is Love’ tattooed on his arm, actually quotes Psalm 23 word for word (‘the valley of the shadow of death’).
It’s been frequently reported that lead singer Chris Martin grew up in a Christian home. Martin has long written lyrics infused with biblical imagery.
‘We Pray’, however, appears to articulate a deep spiritual hunger, with lyrics such as: “I pray that I don’t give up, pray that I do my best” and “so we pray for someone to come and show me the way”.
Martin also borrows straight from the Bible in the track, describing modern-day life as living in “the valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23).
(Agencies; Picture Courtesy: Reuters)
