Song
I Stand in Awe of You
© New Glory International
Behind the song
The story behind I Stand in Awe of You
Written by
Mark Altrogge
Terry MacAlmon context
Recorded by Terry on The Sound of Heaven and revisited in later worship gatherings
I Stand in Awe of You brings worship to a place that Terry MacAlmon considers essential but that can easily be lost in a culture of constant noise: reverence. Written by Mark Altrogge, the song begins by trying to describe the indescribable beauty, wisdom, love and majesty of God. Then it reaches the only adequate response - awe.
Terry's worship ministry has never been built on the idea that every moment must become louder, faster or more dramatic. Waiting matters. Silence matters. Wonder matters. In his teaching on worship, Terry has repeatedly emphasized the need to want God and to wait for God. I Stand in Awe of You naturally creates that kind of space. It slows the heart down long enough to remember who God is.
When Terry included the song on The Sound of Heaven, it sat comfortably beside songs about heavenly worship, God's glory and the longing for His presence. It contributes something different, however. It does not primarily ask God to come or ask Him to do something. It simply beholds Him. That makes the worshipper's response less about need and more about adoration.
For Terry, that is one of the marks of mature worship. There are times to cry out, times to celebrate and times to ask. But there must also be moments when the only fitting response is to stop striving and stand in awe. This song has remained part of Terry's worship vocabulary because it gives people permission to do exactly that.
Watch
I Stand in Awe of You
Official release audio · Terry MacAlmon YouTube channel
The Sound of Heaven grew out of the expanding worship gatherings that followed the World Prayer Center years and the first Pikes Peak Worship Festival in Colorado Springs. By 2004 Terry MacAlmon's live recordings were reaching people far beyond the room in which they were recorded, yet the heart of the ministry remained unchanged: gather people, exalt Jesus and allow worship to rise freely.
The title expresses Terry's vision for the album. The sound of heaven is the sound of the redeemed giving worship back to their Savior. That idea is heard throughout the recording. For the Lord Is Good begins with celebration, followed by Here I Am to Worship and I Stand in Awe. Then the title track opens into a broader picture of worship rising from God's people. Dwelling Places and So Beautiful move into intimacy, while The Lamb Is Worthy and O the Glory turn the focus again toward the majesty and holiness of God.
My God and King carries that same devotion into a personal confession before How We Need the River closes the album as a prayer for the renewing flow of God's Spirit. The journey is deliberate: praise becomes adoration, adoration becomes hunger, and hunger becomes prayer.
The Sound of Heaven also reflects the freedom Terry has always valued in live worship. Songs are not rushed simply to reach the next track. There is room for response, for the congregation to sing and for worship to develop beyond a strict performance structure. The album captures hundreds of voices becoming one voice - a picture of people from different backgrounds turning together toward the same Savior and offering Him their worship.