New Citygate song release! Read the story behind ‘Formed’…

Artwork by Rhiannon Price

I was sitting in a moment of worship at our church staff meeting one morning. Mondays are usually frenetic for most people, and it's no different in the church office!

In this moment, in the stillness, I recognised something I always knew but struggled to live out. God is always ready to meet with us, if we can just slow down long enough to notice Him. 

At that moment, I felt God gave me this image of a plant in the early morning. The sun's rays falling on it. The plant was in rich, soft soil, and the gardener was faithfully cultivating the plant. 

This daily formation is what happens when we intentionally choose to meet with Him, and in the process we are formed into the likeness of Jesus. 

As I was sitting there, I just whispered the revelation He was giving me.

"Good good God, I am formed here with you Lord."

At Citygate, we've been learning that Spiritual Formation is about being with Jesus, becoming like Jesus and doing what Jesus did.

A guy called Thomas Keating, well known for contemplative prayer, once said…

"To rest in God is to rest in the One who is looking at you with love.”

Our prayer is that this song blesses you as you intentionally put aside time to rest in His presence. Waking up to the wonder of our God, yielding the soil of your heart for Him to cultivate and bask in Love's loving gaze. 

- Sean Theunissen, Elder and on the songwriting team at Citygate