I was in a singing contest at one of the local casinos near my town last year. It took place over about 5 weeks, starting with 20 contestants and working it’s way down to 12 through audience voting, each of the contestants competing for $5,000. It was an awesome experience, but after making a complete change to Christian music over the past year, I was uncertain if I should enter the contest again. After much prayer and thought put towards the situation, I was taken back to an experience from last year that I will never forget. It was the final round of voting and I was the last performer out of 12 to sing. The contestant who went before me was an amazing singer and I was nervous to follow her. She ended up singing a powerful rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”. She got a standing ovation and I was back stage shaking in my boots. I had no idea how I was supposed to follow her performance and wasn’t feeling very confident at all.
That is when something amazing happened. As the girl who sang before me was exiting back stage, she grabbed me by the hands and began praying before I could even figure out what was going on. She prayed something along the lines of “Father God, please help Hailey to do her very best and to use the talent’s You’ve blessed her with to glorify Your name in an inspiring way for everyone watching. Amen.” And she was gone. Immediately my feelings of anxiety turned to overwhelming peace. I took the stage confidently knowing that no matter what happened, I was going to glorify God through my positive attitude and performance. I rocked the stage and ended up getting first place. The girl who prayer for me won the whole contest and I was so proud of her and grateful that she won and was giving God the glory through it.
That is why I decided to do the contest again this year. I wanted to be able to give people the hope that I was given last year and glorify God in a place where it might be unexpected. Some people might frown upon my taking part in a casino affiliated contest, but Jesus ate with sinners. If I spend all my time in churches and houses of worship, how will I reach the unsaved?
I am approaching the final round of the contest at the end of this week and my heart still longs for the same thing: to bring glory to God’s name and show people that through God nothing is impossible. I want people to see God in me on stage and then find Him for themselves. This is my prayer, whether I get first place or last place and will be my prayer long after the contest is over.
bring Him more than a song... 