«He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge» (Psalms 91:4).
Franz Liszt was a great Austro-Hungarian composer, a virtuoso pianist, and orchestra conductor. Among other things, he is famous for his large hands, which allowed him to play wide-reaching chords for a fuller sound, as well as an unequaled technique which is still admired today, in spite of the fact that he died over 130 years ago.
Liszt often played works by Beethoven, among which was a Moonlight Sonata filled with arpeggios. There are passages that must be played so quickly there is no time to think about them. Dr. Brand commented that nervous impulses do not travel fast enough for the brain to decide when to lift each finger to strike the keys one after another.
But after many months of practice, the brain becomes programmed so that the finger movements become subconscious reflex actions. This is called «finger memory» in the world of music.
Jamie Andreas, a professional guitarist, explains that this type of memory is the strongest. It is primitive and automatic. Yet, hearing memory and sight memory—the other two types of memory he lists—are still necessary so that when the mind becomes blocked or forgetful, the music can continue unbroken. Hearing memory is more intellectual and conscious than finger memory.
But how can we apply this to our spiritual life? Perhaps you have already made a connection in your mind to certain lessons and situations. Let me tell you about an experience that helped me apply it.
One evening I sat down to play with the little son of a friend of mine. He was learning to read. He showed me his collection of feathers and we were pasting some into his scrapbook I said, “I’m going to tell you a sentence, and you have to guess who it is talking about. ‘He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge.’” He immediately flashed me the biggest smile and said, «Jesus!” I nodded and asked, «Do you know a song that talks about that?» He answered enthusiastically, «Under His Wings!” and he began to sing the song by memory. He sang all the stanzas, even though he was only five years old.
I hope that you can think of some words and immediately associate them with a hymn or Bible verse, also. I hope that communicating with God is a reflex act for you, while still engaging your consciousness and intellect. And I hope that you take refuge under His wings.