10,000 Reasons: How Matt Redman's song has inspired Christians around the world

Matt Redman lives on the south coast with his wife and family.

The two prisoners had spent 10 years in prison in Bali for drug smuggling.

Andrew and Myu had been sentenced to be shot but during their time on death row they had become Christians. They began telling fellow prisoners about their newfound faith but despite a change in behaviour, were still due to be executed for their crimes.

As they stood blindfolded with their backs to a wall, waiting for the firing squad, they began to sing.

"And on that day when my strength is failing, the end draws near and my time has come. Still my soul will sing your praise unending, ten thousand years and then for evermore."

The words of Matt Redman's 10,000 reasons has inspired countless stories of hope and courage around the world. And so the songwriter and worship leader has decided to compile them together in a book. "Hopefully this will really inspire people," Redman says in an interview with Christian Today.

He tells another story, of Reuben Hill. As a student at Imperial College, London, Hill was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He was operated on using groundbreaking technology and was required to be awake for part of the surgery to check his speech wasn't damaged. While the last pieces of his tumour were removed he sang: "The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning, it's time to sing Your song again. Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes," You can see the clip on BBC News here.

"For me these people are the real worship leaders," Redman tells Christian Today. "In the hardest moments in life they are standing up and saying 'I will stand up and trust God'."

Redman has his own story of pain and loss. He was seven when his father died and when his mother re-married his step-father abused him and their family. Two years later he left and Redman was again fatherless.

Matt Redman's new book is due out on July 22

"I found writing songs was one of the best ways to deal with pain," he said. "It was a great way to process what I was going through.

"Then I realised if you write a song in the right way you can help people as well. You put some of your own story in there but don't make it too specific. If you can think in universal themes then often people find songs a great way to voice their own prayers and praises."

The book is a collection of these stories where the song, watched more than 13 million times on YouTube, has focused people's attention on God. Redman says the stories are some of the most profound he has heard.

But the story of how the song was written is more down to earth. It was 1.30 in the morning, in a tiny chapel on the south coast of England near when Redman lives. He was with his friend Jonas Myrin and Redman admits he "just wanted to go to bed". But then Myrin played a riff and Redman knew there was a song there. "It was one of the fastest songs I've ever been a part of writing," he said. But even after they had finished and took it to a recording studio, Redman was not convinced it was anything special."If it had been up to me I would not have put it on the album," he said. But when his producer heard it he insisted the song be included.

Out of all the songs Redman has written, this has proved the most successful. But he says he does not know why. "At the time I didn't recognise at all it was going to have more momentum than any of the others," he says, adding that there was "nothing uber-creative or prophetic in there".

"That is the funny thing about songwriting. You can't repeat a formula. You can learn elements of how to create a song but actually if something connects well you often can't remember how to do it again.

"I kind of like that."

You can find out more about the book here

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