With more than 4,000 Christian pilgrims from 75 nations joining him in the Israeli desert near Ein Gedi, renowned Messianic worship artist Paul Wilbur recorded Desert Rain, his new live CD which releases Oct. 12 through Integrity Music.
Desert Rain is a vibrant live worship experience featuring new and classic Messianic worship songs. The CD was recorded during a spectacular concert last October attended by Christians who traveled from all over the world to celebrate the Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles holiday. The concert was the opening event for the 30th anniversary of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem sponsoring the holy pilgrimage.
“Desert Rain was designed to remind Christians of God's unfailing love and covenant with Israel, and to give them songs to sing over the people and the Land to prophesy and to declare the timeless promises of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” said Wilbur. “This recording takes us on a journey of the faithfulness and passion of God from Zechariah where He declares his burning jealousy for Zion and His promise to dwell in Jerusalem all the way to the return of the Lord in the Book of the Revelation to fulfill that promise of Zechariah with ‘Salvation belongs to our God.’”
Wilbur, whose previous recordings like Shalom Jerusalem, Jerusalem Arise, Lion of Judah and The Watchman have helped popularize Messianic worship music around the globe, says the new CD is musically distinct from his older, more orchestral projects. The lyrics are full of scriptural exhortations for both Israel and the nations, while the fusion of musical styles varies from Hebraic to jazz rhythms. Overall, the CD is more rhythm-driven and has an emphasis on guitars as Wilbur wanted Desert Rain to reflect the urgency and prophetic perspective to the message of music.
Desert Rain features 12 worship songs and includes guest vocalists – Brazilian worship artist Ana Paula (Bessa) and Wilbur’s own daughter-in-law Sharon Wilbur, who also co-wrote three of the new songs with Wilbur.
The track listing for Desert Rain is:
1. Zealous Over Zion
2. Out Of Zion
3. Mountains Of Israel
4. Hallelu Et Adonai
5. I Will Never Leave You (with Sharon Wilbur)
6. Why Should I Be Afraid
7. You Are
8. Blessed Is The Lord
9. Who Is Like Thee (Mikamocha)
10. The Diamond Turns
11. Behold The Lord
12. Salvation Belongs To Our God
Among the many special moments Wilbur remembers from the recording, was one which almost ended the concert before it even started. A piece of electrical gear that controlled all the sound and recording equipment on stage burned up about five minutes before the concert. In the middle of the desert, a three-hour round trip away from Jerusalem, Wilbur and Ana Paula asked the audience to pray for rain – both physical and spiritual. At Ana Paula’s instructions, thousands tapped their fingers on their palms, producing the sound of the soft patter of raindrops that built to a downpour. “As she did,” Wilbur recalled, “a man stepped forward, spliced a couple wires together and ran 220 volts directly into the stacks of equipment; literally a miracle happened as the racks of sound and recording equipment sprang back to life and held strong for the entire performance!”
Later, Israel experienced an end to its drought as much-needed rain moved over the nation.
