Today's Top 10 Most Popular Contemporary Christian Songs (and Artists)

There’s something especially awe-inspiring about the song “Holy Forever” by Chris Tomlin, which has remained popular for a long time on the Billboard charts. It captures the eternal nature of worship by reminding us that when we sing to God, we’re joining a song that has been sung for a thousand generations and will continue for a thousand more! When we sing a worship song, we’re adding our own voices to the voices of God’s whole family – like our fellow believers around the world here on earth and the angels and the saints in heaven. It helps us realize that no matter what’s happening with our changing circumstances in this world, God’s holiness remains the same.

The song reminds me of the vision of heaven in Revelation 4:8, where the living creatures never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” As we listen to Chris Tomlin’s powerful delivery of “Holy Forever,” we can let it inspire us to look beyond our circumstances to God and to trust him to help us with whatever we need, today, and anytime in the future.

2. “Let It Be a Hallelujah” – Lauren Daigle

Lauren Daigle continues her streak of chart-topping hits with “Let It Be a Hallelujah,” which is a song about choosing worship as a first response rather than a last resort. It’s a beautiful, soaring ballad that highlights how God is always worth praising because God is always good and loving. “Let It Be a Hallelujah” encourages us to praise God regularly in our relationships with him, even during difficult times. Praising God can actually help us deal with challenges in our lives. Hebrews 13:15 urges us: “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.”

Lauren’s signature soulful voice carries a depth of emotion that can help us feel the importance of the spiritual challenge of praising God even when we’re going through challenges in this fallen world. Using this song to worship can help us worship with the confidence that God is much greater than any challenge we face, and that we can trust God to help us overcome any challenge. Listen to a soul-stirring live rendition HERE.

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TobyMac has been a popular artist in Christian music for decades, and his recent hit song “Heaven On My Mind” shows why he remains a fan favorite. This song is an upbeat reminder to focus on heaven during our everyday lives here on earth. It encourages us that we can look beyond the temporary stresses of our daily lives to God, and develop a heavenly mindset. “Heaven On My Mind” highlights how this world isn’t our final home, and we can raise our perspective to focus on what has eternal value and look forward to the real hope of going home to heaven.

The lyrics invite us to live out the truth of Colossians 3:2: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” This song’s infectious rhythm and hopeful message can inspire us to walk through every day of our earthly lives with joy, because every step we take is leading us closer to a place where there is no more pain. “Heaven On My Mind” is a great song to turn up when you need a fresh dose of hope and a reminder that the best is yet to come.

4. “Gratitude” – Brandon Lake

Brandon Lake’s song “Gratitude” features an issue that everyone has sometimes encountered, which is feeling like we don’t have enough words to say to God to thank God for who he is and all he does for us. The song starts with a humble admission: “All I have is a hallelujah.” We may sometimes feel like our praise isn’t enough for our wonderful God, who is constantly pouring blessings into our lives. However, the song reminds us that God doesn’t care about us trying to thank him through perfect prayers; he just wants us to connect with him with all of our hearts.

“Gratitude” reflects the spirit of Psalm 103:1, which says: “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.” As the bridge of this song builds into a roar of praise, it can motivate us to develop grateful hearts and minds and express our gratitude to God in whatever ways come naturally to us. Listen to it HERE.

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“God Story” celebrates the power of a life that has been changed for the better. The song encourages listeners to share what God has done for them, which is what Psalm 107:2 encourages Christians to do: “Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.” Anne’s blend of country and Gospel music creates a down-to-earth feel that makes the message accessible to everyone.

Every one of our individual life stories is valuable and can point other people toward the hope God offers them. We all should tell the story of how God has worked in our lives so far whenever we have opportunities to do so. “God Story” encourages us all to look for the ways God is working in our lives and to let other people know, to inspire them to seek God. 

6. “Praise” – Elevation Worship

Sometimes we need a song that just makes us want to move forward into worshiping God. The song “Praise” by Elevation Worship does exactly that. It’s a high-energy celebration of who God is. This song’s core message is simple but significant: we should praise God in every season, all through the ups and downs of life. “Praise” reminds us of the inspiring resolve in Psalm 34:1: “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.”

This song is especially powerful because it reminds us that praise welcomes God’s power into our lives, to help us overcome challenges. When we choose to worship God as we go through challenging circumstances, we’re declaring that God is bigger than our problems. Whenever we need to renew our resolve to rely on God’s power and enjoy praising God in any situation, we can put this song on and turn up the volume! Listen to it HERE.

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CeCe Winans is a Christian music legend, and “Believe For It” shows her wonderful ability to motivate us to have stronger faith in God. This song is for anyone who is facing a situation that seems hopeless and needs God to do a miracle in that situation. “Believe For It” encourages us to speak to our mountains and trust that God can move them. The lyrics are based on Hebrews 11:1, which defines what faith is: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

This song powerfully reminds us that we serve a God who has unlimited power and is willing to use that power to meet all of our needs, because of his great love for us. When we listen to “Believe For It,” we can let its lyrics stir up a fresh sense of hope in our souls so we can expect the best from God. Listen to it HERE.

8. “Firm Foundation (He Won’t)” – Cody Carnes

We’ve all gone through situations where we’ve been hit by challenges without warning and felt shaken up as a result. “Firm Foundation (He Won’t)” by Cody Carnes can help us courageously declare that when we build our lives on Jesus, we won’t be shaken – even in the hardest circumstances. The lyrics refer to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 7:24-25 about the importance of having a strong foundation of faith in God, whose reliability is even more solid than a rock: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

Cody’s passionate delivery helps us declare over our own lives that God has never failed us and he won’t start now. “Firm Foundation (He Won’t)” is a wonderful song to sing when we need to be reminded that we can stand strong in our faith by trusting in God, our rock. Listen to it HERE.

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This is one of the most played songs on Christian radio lately. It touches on the universal sense that we were made for something more than our lives here on earth. “Homesick For Heaven” helps us channel our earthly struggles into a longing for God’s presence. It points us to the truth that Philippians 3:20 highlights: “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” When we’re in pain, we can find hope by listening to Phil singing about how the challenges we face today are “light and momentary” compared to the glory that awaits us in heaven. Listen to it HERE.

10. “Stay” – Zahriya Zachary

Finally, the popular song “Stay” emphasizes that what’s most important is to simply stay connected to God’s presence every day. In this busy world we live in, this song invites us to slow down and simply be with the Lord. “Stay” captures the desire that Psalm 27:4 expresses: “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” As we listen to Zahriya sing peacefully, we can relax and celebrate the fact that we can be in relationships with God and experience God’s unconditional love anytime and anywhere we connect with God’s constant presence with us. 

In conclusion, the most popular contemporary Christian songs can all move us closer to God through worship. Our creative God has used many different music artists to express important truths of our faith and inspire us to express ourselves to God in prayer. So, let’s make time to enjoy listening to these songs whenever we can. Their music and lyrics can encourage us in our faith and motivate us to celebrate God and his wonderful work in our lives!

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