Gospel singer Mayia Warren is putting a deeply personal spin on one of contemporary worship music's most recognizable songs, revealing that her recording "As the Deer" was inspired by Marty Nystrom's enduring worship classic "As the Deer."
Warren recently celebrated the response to the song with a heartfelt message to listeners: "To God be the glory! Thank you so much for listening, sharing and showing the single love."
But this isn't simply another cover of a familiar church favorite. Warren says she wanted to honor the original while weaving her own testimony into the music.
"'As The Deer' was inspired by the hymn 'As The Deer Pants for the Water' written by Marty Nystrom," Warren explained. She described recording the song as an opportunity to pay homage to a worship staple that captures what dependence upon Christ looks like in the Christian life.
Warren added that bringing her own testimony into the track both stretched her creatively and made the recording process particularly rewarding. Her goal, she says, remains bigger than streams or attention: "Here is to Kingdom Impact. The mission continues."
Originally released as a single in November 2025, "As the Deer" subsequently appeared on Warren's 2026 album Take Me Back. The song has continued to find an audience, appearing among Warren's popular tracks on streaming services.
The new interpretation fits naturally into Warren's growing catalog. The 28-year-old Raleigh, North Carolina-based gospel artist and worship leader describes her sound as a fusion of Gospel, R&B, Neo Soul and Jazz, with autobiographical songwriting playing an important role in her music.
Her story extends well beyond music. Warren, who has been legally blind since birth, is also active in disability and foster-care advocacy and views her artistry through the lens of Christian mission. Her official biography says she has ministered everywhere from churches and senior centers to nonprofit events and the main stage of Flavor Fest.
That combination of testimony, traditional Christian music and contemporary soul has increasingly become Warren's calling card. Take Me Back also includes titles such as "Pass Me Not," "Sanctuary," "Tis So Sweet," "Jesus Loves Me" and "At the Cross," placing "As the Deer" within a project that repeatedly reaches back to the musical language of the Church while giving it a contemporary treatment.
For Warren, however, the point remains remarkably simple: the old worship song's message of thirsting for God still matters. She is taking a song generations of Christians know and making its confession her own.
