Devin Williams On How His New EP Encourages Believers to Worship God With Everything We Have

Worship songwriter and singer Devin Williams has recently released his brand new EP We Are Forever Yours. The record is available on iTunes and other online retailers. "Hear Our Hearts Sing" is the first single released off the EP.  

Previously, Williams had scored numerous Billboard Top 30 Christian Rock hits including "Destruction of Kings" (#15), "I Will Overcome" (#18), "Eraser "(#23), "Feel You Falling"(#24), "Here for You" (#27) and "Save Me" (#30). He has also performed with Tenth Avenue North, For King and Country, Building 429, and Family Force before. 

We are honored to catch up with Devin for this exclusive interview. 

Q:  Devin thanks for doing this interview with us.  Let's start with yourself,  tell us more about your journey.  How did the Lord led you in terms of singing for Him?

A:  Thanks Pastor Timothy for the interview!  My musical journey began when I was a small child as my dad was a rock organist and my mother a soul singing vocalist and a drummer.  I can remember my very first experience leading worship around the age of 6 singing a chorus of "We Have Come Into His House" at our small town church in California.  As a teenager, I began to stray from my faith and I wanted to move to Los Angeles and pursue the rock star life!  One Wednesday night of my senior year in high school, my dad asked me to come to church with him.  I reluctantly went and during the time of prayer and invitation I began to talk honestly with God.  This was probably the first time I had put any serious thought into my future and the road that rock and roll was going to lead me on.  I love rock music and loud guitars and as I was praying, I talked with the Lord and told Him Christians may not accept my music because at this time there were very few Christian rock bands.  I felt that God spoke to my heart that night and told me all I needed to do was write and sing my songs for Him and He would open the right doors and the music would reach the people He wanted it to reach.  That's when I surrendered.  17 years old with a head full of dreams and a surrendered heart to follow God where ever He would lead me... anywhere in the world!

Q:  How would you describe your sound?  Who would you say are the artists that have influenced your sound?

A: Describing my sound is a little difficult for me, but I would say it has a mix of rock/pop and maybe some blues/soul and just a pinch of country. I love creating music and sometimes it comes out really heavy with grunge or 'metal' sounding guitars.  And at other times I'll grab the acoustic and sing a soft love song or worship song or tell a story about life.  As far as influences, I probably have way too many influences! I'm not sure if that's even possible!  I can appreciate the art in almost all music.  I am inspired by music with live instruments and when a band has a great sound and chemistry together.  

Q:  Tell us about your new worship EP "We Are Forever Yours."  What is (are) the message(s) you hope to convey through this record?

A: The new EP is a project I pray will give hope and encouragement to the body of Christ.  One of the songs on the album "You Give Me Strength" talks about when we go through things in our walk with God that may at times break our heart.   During those moments, this song is asking Him to give us the strength to keep moving forward in faith and courage that is greater than our understanding and only comes from Him.  There are several more songs like this to encourage believers to not fear but to trust and worship Him with everything you have!

Q:  Did you write all the songs on the record?  Does songwriting come easy for you?

A:  I did write all the songs on the new worship EP but songwriting does not always come easy.  I have been in several co-writing sessions, but I've found I truly enjoy creating and completing the ideas on my own.  For your second question, yes and no. Because I like to write on my own, it might take several years to finish a song.  I think the longest it took me to finish a song was about 10 years!  I had written a verse and put the song in a file and forgot about it.  Years went by and I pulled that verse out and decided to finish it!  Sometimes they come quickly too.  I wrote a song once, including 2 verses, a bridge and a chorus, in about 15 minutes!  

Q:  Let's talk about your single "Hear Our Hearts Sing."  What's the story behind this song?

A: The single "Hear Our Hearts Sing" was originally inspired by a friend of mine who was fighting cancer.  I had written the first verse and chorus for him as an encouragement to lay all of his cares at the feet of Jesus and that God hears the cries of His children - He even knows every beat of our hearts!  A few years later I finished the rest of the song and I added a section that asks God to fill up our hearts with love, joy, and peace as we face a world filled with so much pain and fear.  I truly believe that all of our hearts are crying out for more of God's love, both sinner and saint.  When we as a church begin to sing, "fill us with Your love, fill us with Your joy, fill us with Your peace" I believe that God hears that prayer, that worship, and God will fill us up with His power and presence.

Q:  Being a youth pastor, do you write with young people in mind?  Do you also lead them in worship too with these songs? 

A:  I'm not a youth pastor at this time, but I've been involved with youth ministry in some way my entire life.  Yes, when I write songs, especially praise and worship, I try to envision the people singing along and worshiping together.  I've been singing these songs for my youth group and for our Sunday morning services and the people seem to be enjoying them.  A few Wednesday nights ago, I was introducing one of my new songs and a girl on the front row got excited and yelled out "I love this song!"  So that was very encouraging!

Q:  Recently you returned for a performance at the Seacrest Studio inside Nashville's Vanderbilt Children's Hospital (VCH) where your son had heart surgery.  How's your son now?

A:  The Seacrest Studio is a wonderful opportunity to share hope and encouragement.  My son, who was born with a CHD, had surgery there about 2 years ago for his heart.  I am so very thankful for the knowledge and skill of the doctors at Vanderbilt.  We are truly blessed that my son Jace is doing very well and is actually playing on a little soccer-roos team!  We know that he may need surgeries in the future, but we are trusting God and in His sovereignty.  

Q:  What's next for you?  Are you touring in support of this EP?  Where can our readers find out about your tour info?

A:  The past few weeks I've been making TV and radio appearances to promote the new EP.  I would love to get out and play more shows so people can hear and sing along with these worship songs God has given me.  I'm always looking for more places to visit so if any of your readers would like to have me come to their church have them send me an email and we'll try to make it happen!  To find out more about my music and what I'm doing next follow me on all of the socials and my website here:  

www.facebook.com/devinw/

 

 

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