The Spirit Focus Story
by Michael Saltar
composer & creator of the Spirit Focus Playlist
composer & creator of the Spirit Focus Playlist
For many of us, hearing from God is a matter of survival, and I was no exception in 2020. I think most sincere Christians would agree that clear direction from Heaven is not just a luxury: it's a necessity.
Despite my years in Christian ministry as a concert pianist, composer, and art director for other ministries, I became burned out on overwhelm because I wasn't spending the quality time alone with God that I need — the very thing Jesus Himself did often.
Many other believers I know have expressed the same frustration. So what's the problem? If Jesus did it, why aren't we?
Without my time alone with Him, I found myself floundering without direction — until I finally returned to that secret place with Him. And here's what I want to share with you today: music was the game-changer. It helped me cast away distractions and focus solely on hearing the Lord.
But it wasn't just any music: I discovered a secret weapon that reminded me of David's harp-wielding experience before King Saul.
When I returned to the secret place, the Lord's voice guided me. His direction flowed, stress melted away. I saw visions, almost daily miracles, and an increase in the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit. That shouldn't surprise us since He promised He is a "rewarder of those who diligently seek Him," and "His sheep know His voice."
Distractions keep us from pursuing God.
If there's that much peace, direction, and power connected with consistent alone time with God, why aren't most of us doing it? What could possibly hold us back from such a worthy pursuit?
It's a question for believers in Jesus who understand that worship means expressing our love and devotion to Him — and who truly desire to give Him time, long to study His Word, and hear His voice as He promised.
I conducted an informal survey of Christians to ask what number-one obstacle keeps them from their needed time with God. The majority admitted it was due to distractions and a lack of focus. The 21st century is rife with distractions — unlike any period in history. They threaten to steal time from what really matters: time with family, real relationships, and especially our relationship with God.
Now, I won't say I have the final cure for all things intrusive. We still must choose to focus — proactively — but I have learned something that can help you "sweeten the deal" in your alone times with God. Most Christians would call it worship music, but there's another slice of that pie I don't hear many people talking about.
The secret weapon: a musical "focus lock."
So what about this secret weapon I mentioned? One day while in grad school at seminary, I drove to my part-time job, but — despite all the music of ministry I was rehearsing in the music school — I was so overwhelmed, stressed, and agitated that I wanted to give up.
But that day on the road, when I switched on my car stereo to a particular movie soundtrack, my mind locked in on the sound, all my troubles seemed to fade, distractions vanished, I wept, and I had a big time of worship and personal communication with the Lord — right there in my car.
It appeared I had discovered that cinematic instrumental music (the music of the movies) is designed to help the listener "lock in" focus. I was no stranger to this idea, because I had done a considerable amount of independent research into psychoacoustics during my undergrad studies, but this was the first time I had experienced it out of context — away from a movie screen.
Somehow, this music freed me up to focus on Him. Of course, I had to make the active decision to focus on Him, but the music acted as a virtual shield for my mind to cast away pestering doubts and negative thoughts.
All the right ingredients were in the sauce.
Later, I went back and analyzed that soundtrack (a master's degree in music composition will do that to you) and discovered there were certain techniques used in this particular piece that made all the difference. These Hollywood types really know what they're doing.
The techniques I discovered in that soundtrack are only a few of the many available to modern composers. My analysis might sound a little too heady for some, so let's just say the right ingredients were in the sauce to create a mental focus lock.
If, however, you just happen to love technical details and want to read my analysis, by all means, click the button below:
Fully immersed in a body of sound.
If you’ve ever been in a large cathedral and heard an a capella choir sing, the sound echoes around you and it feels as if you are bathed or immersed in the music. It’s all about the long sustain of the notes and the acoustics of the room. Why do you think amateur singers feel enough peace and inspiration to belt out tunes in the shower? It’s the acoustics of the tile that create that same effect — a comforting, sustained surround that seems to wash away the troubles of the day.
The techniques I heard in the score that day had a similar effect. And there’s nothing wrong with using them. I’m a firm believer God gave us the gift of music to help us align with Him: to drown out distractions, and focus our attention on the transforming, life-breathing power of the Holy Spirit.
"Play skillfully on the strings."
When available, we should use the gift of music with as much skill as is available to us. Take King Saul for instance: when a demon tormented him, his advisors urged him to “...seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp” (1 Samuel 16:16). Something about what this skilled and Holy-Spirit-anointed musician David could do with the harp had the power to drive out the demon that had stolen the king’s peace.
Musical skill and knowledge — plus the anointing of the Holy Spirit — amounts to nothing short of weaponized music. That’s what David had in his hands. "Play skillfully on the strings," instructed the psalmist in Psalm 33:3.
Worship transformed.
After learning from that soundtrack experience on my commute, my private worship times shifted to something new. Sure, I'd still sing some hymns, or popular worship songs, but more often than not, I'd sit at the piano and improvise a sort of "film score" to the bible stories I had been reading or biblical descriptions of Jesus transfigured in Heaven. Over time, this has been my personal offering of worship.
This spontaneous music expresses my awe, wonder, and deep love for God. You could call this type of improvisation "playing in the Spirit," with my added inclination toward focus techniques I've discovered by trial and error over the years.
I breathed more deeply.
It dawned on me that the very thing I had been doing in my own private worship times has the power to drive out focus-stealing distractions like David playing before King Saul. In fact, when I got in my closet, closed my eyes, and listened to my first recording of the Spirit Focus Playlist (my own track called "Peace and Assurance"), I literally felt such peace I found that my breathing slowed down, and I was taking longer, deeper breaths. I hadn't even been aware how shallow my breathing was before.
They all saw the same vision.
Until now, this music has mostly been between the Lord and myself, but now I've felt strongly impressed it's time to share it with the world. Thus, the Spirit Focus Playlist was born. This type of music has deepened my own relationship with the Lord, and I found that others have been blessed by it too when I'd share it with them. For instance, a training group of ministers unanimously said they all saw a similar vision of the Garden of Eden as I played for them, and a prophet even gave the interpretation of a divine message he heard in my music.
Regardless of what you might hear or see while listening to my music, my message to you is to seek God only. Let Him do the talking. If my music can help you get there, then it was all worth it to me.
When there are no lyrics (aka instrumental music), the listener’s mind is not engaged intellectually on lyrics but, instead, the person's spirit is more free to hear directly from God — who is Spirit. This is the beauty of instrumental music that is submitted to the Holy Spirit: Jesus will use this mysterious gift — which science has yet to fully explain and Hollywood doesn't hesitate to exploit — to quiet the mind, remove distractions, create focus, and use the opportunity to speak directly to the listener’s spirit as uniquely as each person needs to hear Him.
My prayer for you — in your quiet times.
And that’s my desire for you as you listen in your personal times of prayer or bible reading: let it be like an immersive shower around you where you can ignore distractions and instead hear from God's Holy Spirit as He loves you deeply and desires to commune with you daily.
By now, I hope you can see how this playlist can be helpful to you. I’m not calling it an album, but rather a digital library because it will continue to grow as I create new music. New music is important because even the best music can get old through repetition. But even more importantly, familiarity of a tune can actually create a distraction unto itself. For the sake of focus, it’s better that the music be completely new. The point is to focus on the Holy Spirit rather than on a catchy tune.
In your alone times with God, use the Spirit Focus Playlist to...
Tune out distractions.
Develop focus.
Quiet your mind
Hear the Holy Spirit.
It’s FREE to the public.
I’m excited to announce the Spirit Focus Playlist will be free to the public as my ministry to you because there is no more important activity in this life than getting alone with God to hear His voice. If I can do anything to help you get there, then please consider this music as my gift to you.
Want to hear a sample? Although the Playlist isn't released yet, go ahead and click on the "watch video" button, and you'll hear some of the music now. It's only a brief demo at the moment. More is coming soon.
Please don’t hesitate to enter your contact information in the form below so you can access the playlist as soon as it goes live.
The Spirit Focus Playlist will be an ever-growing collection of original music. The point is to keep adding fresh, new music so that familiarity with the music doesn't detract from the focus effect.
Want to help encourage others?
The playlist is free to the public, but if you choose to donate, you're not only helping speed up the release date: more importantly, you're also helping create new music to encourage other believers to focus on hearing the Holy Spirit. New music keeps the playlist fresh — one of the critical elements of the "focus-lock" principle.
All gifts are tax deductible to the 501(c)(3) non-profit Sam Saltar Evangelistic Association, Inc.
Get notified when it's available.
(The playlist is FREE.)
Yes, please let me know when the Spirit Focus Playlist is ready to play.
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