10 Praise Songs from the 90s That Still Inspire Deep Worship

1. “Shout to the Lord” by Darlene Zschech

Written during a difficult season in Zschech’s life, “Shout to the Lord” quickly became popular worldwide. Zschech was a young mother facing spiritual and financial pressures at the time she wrote this song. She especially needed God’s comfort and peace. Sitting at an old piano in her living room, she turned to Psalm 96 and Psalm 98 in her Bible and poured out her feelings to God in song. What emerged was this wonderful song that would soon be sung by millions of believers in churches around the world every Sunday.

“Shout to the Lord” moves from personal worship (like in the lyrics “My Jesus, my Savior, Lord there is none like you”) to inviting all creation to sing praises to God. It can remind you that your personal relationship with Jesus naturally leads to public praise. The song’s chorus can help you reset spiritually. When your life feels overwhelming, singing that God is your “comfort, shelter, tower of refuge and strength” can help you rely on God’s unlimited power to help you and celebrate God’s loving care. Listen to "Shout to the Lord" on GodTube.

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2. “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High” by Rick Founds

Few songs captured the heart of 90s church worship like this simple yet powerful song. “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High” became very popular in the 1990s because it taught basic Christian beliefs musically, which made them easy to learn and remember. Founds wrote it while thinking about how salvation works. To help picture it, he drew a simple diagram of the water cycle on his screen to show God’s grace coming down and lifting us back up.

“Lord, I Lift Your Name on High” sums up the main story of Jesus in a few clear lines: Jesus came from heaven to earth to show us how to live, died on the cross to pay for our sins, rose from the dead, and returned to heaven where he rules forever. The best part of the song is how easy it is to understand. It shows that worship music doesn’t need to be complicated to share significant Bible truths. “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High” is an upbeat song that encourages you to sing out and raise your hands to thank Jesus for what he did for you.

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3. “The Heart of Worship” by Matt Redman

This song was written after Redman’s church in England decided to stop using sound systems, instruments, and the worship band for a while. The pastor felt the church members had started focusing too much on the excitement of the music instead of focusing on God. For several weeks, the church met in silence, singing without instruments and learning how to worship genuinely from their hearts. When the instruments finally came back, Redman wrote this song to summarize what God had taught them during that quiet time.

The message of “The Heart of Worship” is simple: worship is about connecting with God rather than performing music that gets people excited. The heart of worship isn’t about music at all; instead, it’s about connecting with God’s presence. The lyrics point out how easy it can be for you to focus on outside traditions instead of what’s happening in your heart and mind. Singing “I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about you” helps you drop your distractions and think honestly about whether you’re giving God a real worship offering, or just going through the motions of worship. This song reminds you to keep God at the center of your worship and your whole life.

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4. “Open the Eyes of My Heart” by Paul Baloche

Inspired by the apostle Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:18 (asking that the “eyes of your heart may be enlightened”), Baloche wrote this worship song that works like a quiet, repeating prayer: “Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, I want to see you.” Baloche was working as a worship leader in Texas when he started playing a simple guitar rhythm, praying that God would show himself to the church. In a modern world filled with noise and digital distractions, this song asks God for spiritual focus. The simple, repeating style in this song is intentional.

“Open the Eyes of My Heart” lets you stop worrying about everything that has been distracting you and let it all go so you can pray with a clear mind and an open heart. When you sing about wanting to see God “high and lifted up, shining in the light of your glory,” you’re asking God to help you see and hear from him clearly. “Open the Eyes of My Heart” helps you turn your attention away from your challenges and focus on God’s great power to help you overcome those challenges. Watch “Open the Eyes of My Heart” on GodTube.

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5. “Refiner’s Fire” by Brian Doerksen

This song is a quiet and serious prayer for personal change. “Refiner’s Fire” was written by Doerksen, a Canadian worship leader, during a period of personal searching in his life. It’s an honest way of asking God to be pure, holy, and completely given over to God‘s will. Based on ideas from Malachi 3:2-3 about God purifying silver, this song points out that growing spiritually often happens during hard times. Singing “Purify my heart, let me be as gold” takes real humility.

“Refiner’s Fire” shows that the painful challenges you go through in this fallen world teach you valuable spiritual lessons that can help you grow to become more like Jesus when you trust him to lead you through those challenges. This song is a wonderful choice for devotional times when you want to work with God to teach you fresh ways to grow spiritually. Instead of asking God to fix your circumstances, “Refiner’s Fire” can inspire you to ask God to fix you. That makes it an especially spiritually mature song. Watch “Refiner’s Fire” on YouTube.

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6. “Draw Me Close” by Kelly Carpenter/Vineyard Music

“Draw Me Close” is like a personal conversation between a child and his or her Heavenly Father. This song’s soft music and honest words give you an easy way to sing about your desire to be near God, especially when you feel tired or far away. Carpenter wrote the song when he was feeling overwhelmed by stress and needed to feel God’s love and peace again. The song simply shares a wish for closeness to God: “Draw me close to you, never let me go. I lay it all down again, to hear you say that I’m your friend.”

Lines like “You’re all I want, you’re all I’ve ever needed” can help you connect with God even in the most stressful situations by reminding you of what matters most. It’s a great song to listen to during your devotional times alone with God at home, in the car, or wherever you can worship God by yourself. Watch “Draw Me Close” on YouTube. 

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7. “Agnus Dei” by Michael W. Smith

This song is inspired by Revelation 19:5-7: “Then a voice came from the throne, saying: ‘Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small!’ Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.”

“Agnus Dei” (which is Latin for “Lamb of God”) brings the feeling of worshipping in God’s heavenly throne room down to earth. You can imagine yourself in heaven with God and lots of angels and souls, singing the song’s words together: “Alleluia, Holy are you, Lord God Almighty.” The song starts softly and slowly grows bigger and louder, inviting you to join angels and souls worshipping God in heaven while you’re still here on earth. Because it feels like worshiping in heaven, “Agnus Dei” can inspire you with feelings of awe whenever you sing it. “Agnus Dei” helps you focus on God’s wondrous holiness and eternal authority over everything.

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8. “Better Is One Day” by Matt Redman

This is an upbeat song that celebrates a desire to be near God. “Better Is One Day” is based on the words of Psalm 84:10: “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” The song compares the lack of real fulfillment from the best this fallen world has to offer with the real fulfillment that only comes from God. The lyrics remind you that no amount of success, money, or comfort on earth can ever match the experience of being with your loving Heavenly Father.

Singing “My heart and flesh cry out for you, the Living God” can help you reset your priorities. Whenever you catch yourself looking for fulfillment from things that ultimately can’t fulfill you, you can sing this song to move your attention back to God, who is the true source of your fulfillment.

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9. “Above All” by Paul Baloche and Lenny LeBlanc

“Above All” contrasts Jesus’ power over all creation with his humble sacrifice on the cross. The writers wanted to create something that honored Jesus’ greatness while showing how much his death cost him personally. The verses walk you through various types of worldly greatness and point out that Jesus is far greater than all of them. But the chorus turns to the cross, celebrating that the King of creation willingly chose to suffer to save us. The line “Like a rose trampled on the ground, you took the fall and thought of me above all” can inspire you to thank Jesus for his ultimate sacrifice to save your soul.

“Above All” reveals just how much God loves you by highlighting how Jesus thought saving you was worth the tremendous suffering he went through on the cross. Watch “Above All” on GodTube.

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10. “Come, Now Is the Time to Worship” by Brian Doerksen

This song reminds you that praising God is a choice you can make today. While Doerksen was leading worship in Europe, he wrote the song for open church worship services. “Come, Now Is the Time to Worship” balances a friendly invitation with a serious Bible truth. The song says, “Come, just as you are to worship,” which reminds you that you don’t need to fix messy situations in your life before coming to God. But it also points to Philippians 2:10-11, which describes how one day “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

It encourages you not to wait for that final day, but to freely give God your praise right now. “Come, Now Is the Time to Worship” invites you to connect with God’s presence just as you are and believe that God will meet you with love.

In conclusion, trends in music change over time, but truths from the Bible stay the same. These 10 praise songs from the 1990s have stayed popular because they share classic Bible truths about God’s love and power. Let these songs remind you that God is always worthy of your praise and will always meet you in worship!

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