Charlie Hall has been traveling for almost 15 years, from his home base of … Read Full Bio ↴Charlie Hall has been traveling for almost 15 years, from his home base of Oklahoma City to Kuala Lumpur, enthralling friends and strangers with his goatee and his songs.

With a musical journey that has crisscrossed all kinds of rock music, folk music, and electronic music, he carries a songwriting sense that aims to capture dense images of life with God,
in compositions that can be carried with the listener. He aims to tell the old story of the Gospel in an ever-shifting world, without resorting to easy truisms, or lazy language. His new collection of songs, The Bright Sadness, echoes a journey pressed to the chest of God, joyful and sorrowful at once, with God's heart clear and pulsing in each note and word. It wraps liturgy with the unexpected, and daily mundanity with daily surprise.

As many of the Passion collegiate gatherings were recorded live, Hall was quickly dubbed "a voice" for the Passion movement, performing on all eight Passion albums, which have sold more than one million units.

Charlie expresses the desire to be "honed into God, where I'm not part of a culture where I'm trying to make the people around me think, 'Hey, that's a good Christian.' I'm just trying to pursue God and not pursue being accepted into a club...I'm more honed into my pursuit of God in Christ and how he's forming me and changing and helping me love him and know him.

Renewing and encouraging local churches, engaging young and old with social justice action, widening hearts to see God at work in the whole world, spurring local artists on to imaginative and creative expression, and offering songs of rest to those who are simply tired are some of the hopes of Charlie, and his band of gypsies. Hall's band, in which he performs vocals and guitar, consists of Kendall Combes (electric guitar), Brian Bergman (keyboard), Dustin Ragland (drums), and Quint Anderson (bass guitar).

God Ablaze
Charlie Hall Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

One thing I ask today
That I could gaze on Your face
That I could walk in Your infinite ways
Today and all of my days

God ablaze in beauty
I set You now before me
Flood my heart and all my being

God, You're beautiful

Hands up, adore and love
I give my life up
My heart is bowing now
To show You defenses are down

All my affections rise
When You are in my eyes

You flood my heart and mind
You are beautiful

Overall Meaning

In Charlie Hall's song "God Ablaze," the lyrics are a prayer asking to see God's face and walk in His ways every day. The words express a desire to be consumed by God's beauty and to have His presence fill every part of one's being. The phrase "God ablaze in beauty" is particularly evocative, suggesting that the radiance and majesty of God's presence is so intense and all-consuming that it is like a blazing fire.

The lyrics emphasize the importance of surrender and reverence in approaching God. The phrase "hands up, adore and love" suggests a posture of worship and surrender, and the line "my heart is bowing now" reinforces this idea. The lyrics indicate that when one's defenses are down and they are fully surrendered to God, His beauty and presence flood their heart and mind.

Line by Line Meaning

One thing I ask today
I have one request for today

That I could gaze on Your face
I want to be able to look at Your face

That I could walk in Your infinite ways
I want to walk in Your eternal ways

Today and all of my days
I want to do this every day of my life

God ablaze in beauty
God is shining in His beauty

I set You now before me
I put You before myself now

Flood my heart and all my being
Fill my heart and my whole being completely

God, You're beautiful
God, You are truly stunning

Hands up, adore and love
I raise my hands in adoration and love

I give my life up
I am surrendering my life to You

My heart is bowing now
My heart is submitting to You right now