Every Time I Feel The Spirit
- Jonathan Chan & Sng Li-Hwei
- Aug 19
- 4 min read
On the 23rd of August 2026, the 9am Choir, the Covenant Minstrels, will be joined by members of the CCMC Gospel Choir to sing the African American spiritual, ‘Every Time I Feel the Spirit’.
The spiritual is a genre of Christian music associated with African Americans, commonly originating from the experiences of those in bondage in slavery during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. This history of Christian music finds its expression in suffering and captivity amid experiences of hardship and labour.
Among slave communities, literacy was scarce and communication via song was woven deeply into daily life and in church congregations. ‘Every Time I Feel The Spirit’ likely originated in the Antebellum South in the first half of the 19th century, a period preceding the American Civil War.
While slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865, after 400 years or so of sustained violence and cruelty, the effects of human oppression and social injustice are still felt and remembered to date. This ‘double-speak’ through spirituals enabled the slaves to disguise and communicate messages of sorrow, escape and hope; as Christian hymns.
The song later became a standard in Black religious music, standardised in hymnals in the early 20th century and sung by singers such as Nat King Cole, Diana Ross, and Little Richard.
The song's lyrics help us identify with the Jews who were enslaved in Egypt (Exodus 1:11, 13-14) for a similar period of 400 years. Their lives were fractured, spirits broken from the harsh slavery (Ex 6:9).
When the Israelites turned to the Lord (Ex :23), He acted. God called an unlikely hero, Moses, to lead His people out captivity into the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey.
The life of Moses was tumultuous – he was saved from infanticide, adopted by an Egyptian princess and grew up in a royal household. No doubt he was aware of his true identity, and the physical abuse on his kinsmen, which led him to enact a revenge killing.
However, he was rejected by his own people and fled into the harsh desert land of Midan (in Saudi Arabia today), becoming a low-key shepherd helping his father-in-law. One day while tending to the sheep, God called him out of a burning bush.
Up on the mountain, when my Lord spoke,
Out of His mouth came fire and smoke
Looked all around me, it looked so fine;
I asked my Lord if all was mine.
These lyrics from ‘Every Time I Feel The Spirit’ are drawn directly from Scripture, the description of the Lord speaking ‘upon the mountain’, out of whose mouth came ‘fire and smoke’ alluding to Moses’ encounter with God on Mount Sinai. We can easily understand Moses’ insecurities and repeated excuses not to return to Egypt, face rejection and punishment for his past crime.
However, God patiently and repeatedly affirmed His protection upon Moses. It was his meekness (Numbers 12:3), faith and obedience that resulted in Moses becoming God's instrument of choice in rescuing His people, according to God’s will and not through the human method of self-justice.
Letting God lead the Way
Ol’ Jordan River, so chilly and cold;
It chills the body, not the soul.
When Satan tempts me, its all in vain;
With my Lord Jesus I remain.
Chorus
O, every time I feel the Spirit,
Movin’ in my heart, I will pray.
O, every time I feel the Spirit
Movin’ in my heart, I will pray.
We live in a fallen world, faced with difficult choices, interruptions, and disruptions. Many circumstances are beyond our control, some are consequences of our own decisions. But through His death on the cross at Calvary, Jesus has freed us from the bondage of sin, despair and hopelessness. We are redeemed from slavery and eternal death, to live a life of spiritual freedom as God’s beloved children. (Romans 8:1-11).
The Jordan River holds special significance in the Bible. Joshua 3 records how the Israelites, led by the Ark of God, crossed the Jordan to enter into the Promised Land. The Israelites were to keep a distance from the Ark and consecrate themselves first, as the Ark signified God's Holy presence. The baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, as described in Matthew 3, captures His being filled by the Holy Spirit before starting His ministry on earth.
How then should we live?
In the same manner, as we cross the Jordan River from the old life to a new life in Christ, we must let God lead us and follow His directions on how to live and do His will. We do not run about in activities, driven by our human desires and wisdom. It is the Holy Spirit dwelling us that reminds us of God’s abiding presence and prompts trust and obey Him. Putting on the whole armour of God, we are to pray unceasingly, at all times, in the Spirit. (Ephesians 6:10- 18).
Today, there are still wars, enslavement, forms of injustice, and broken lives. He has called to be salt and light in this world. Will we heed God’s call, feel the Spirit moving, pray and obey?
References:
1. C. Michael Hawn, ‘History of Hymns: ‘Every Time I Feel The Spirit’, Discipleship Ministries, United Methodist Church, 19 May 2021, https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/history-of-hymns-every-time-i-feel-the-spirit
2. Karen Cook Bell, ‘Literacy, History, and African American Spirituals’, Black Perspectives, 13 December 2018, https://www.aaihs.org/literacy-history-and-african-american-spirituals/
3. The Coming of Christianity, https://www.imb.org/2018/09/07/ten-ways-missions-influenced-africa/
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