check out a newer interview with moriah in our brand new book.

Meet Moriah!

Natalee J. got to chat with the bubbly artist who  brought us some of our favorite tunes, such as "I Choose Jesus", and "Haven't Even Kissed"!

Childhood Home: Sunny California.
Height: Five feet and ten inches.
Favorite Color: White.
Favorite Disney Princess:  Mulan.
If She Could Have One Super Power : The power to see a year or two into the future.
If She Were to Go to Lunch With Three People, (These three people can be alive, dead, fictional, or Biblical.) She Would Choose: 
1) One of the twelve disciples. Can't decide which one! 
2) Perpetua, who was a martyr in ancient Rome. She was taken into an arena and killed because of her faith. 
3) Mr. Rogers.

Moriah's debut album, I Choose Jesus, is playing in the headphones of teenage girls everywhere! Her sophomore project, Brave, just released July 15th! Let's take a walk down memory lane and explore some of Moriah's biggest hits from her first album, as well as explore her newest radio single, "You Carry Me"!


♫ "You Carry Me" 

Moriah's Thoughts About Worship...

“It really is a personal experience. I’ve met many different people who all love Christ, but they each worship in a different way. Sometimes worship isn’t this big, loud, booming thing, sometimes worship comes softly and enters our hearts in a quiet way, while other times worship flows through our veins and makes us come alive.

Last year I did a show overseas. We stayed at a monastery. We played the show and went back to where we were staying. One of the monks came up to me and asked me if I would like to come to one of their ceremonies. Not knowing what it was, I asked him. He told me to just come along and find out. I did. We got to this little room where a monk was in a corner with a guitar. He would play a song and everyone would sing with him. Then the song would end and we would be in silence for five minutes, then we would repeat. The monk would play a song and we would all join in before another five minutes of silence. I have to say that that experience was one of the most powerful experiences of worship that I’ve ever had. 

When I worship, sometimes I don’t feel anything. Other times I feel the Spirit working through me. It depends on how I’m worshiping.

When I worship in front of peers, such as a concert or a church service, I view it as two options, each option varying from what congregation I’m leading in worship. Option A – I’m bringing a song from the people to God. I’m like the messenger, not that God needs me to bring the people His song, but I feel that when they sing the songs God put on my heart to write, I’m helping them bring that message to God. Option B – I’m bringing a song from God to the people. Obviously, He doesn't need my help. But He asks me to do it. He laid lyrics on my heart to put to music so I could bring the words He wants people to hear.”


The Season to BLOOM!

We asked Moriah, "What does it mean to bloom to your full potential?" And, "How did you know the direction you were supposed to take with your life?"

“I knew that music was the career God was telling me to take when I was fourteen years old. I had just had a breakthrough in my relationship with Jesus. I had fallen head over heels for Him. He whispered His desires for my life into my heart and they became my desires. On Easter Sunday I sang a song at my church (I was, as I said, fourteen). After the service this man came up to me. He didn’t look like a ‘church going’ man. He had ragged clothes and should’ve been in a gang. I was so nervous what he was going to say to me. But he simply said, 'Thank you for singing that song. It really inspired me and I appreciate it.’ After that, I knew that God wanted me to further a career in music. I knew that I wanted the lyrics of my songs to change people and to point them back to the Lord.”

Beauty. Bullies. Blooming.

"Have you ever heard you are beautiful? I know what you're worth. But you don't see it at all. After the rain has fallen down the sun comes out. Just keep believing you'll see a new season soon, you're turning into something amazing, baby you were born to bloom!"
                                    (Lyrics to Bloom)

Moriah says...

“I met a girl at a show a couple years back. She literally was one of the most beautiful people I have ever met. She came up to me, and I thought that she was going to say she had so many friends, and how she invited them here and they are now Christians…or something along those lines. But I was in for a surprise. What she said, I never would have expected. She told me that she had no friends. Not a single one. And she was being bullied in school. I could relate to her because I was bullied in school as well. I was the ‘giraffe’ or ‘the super tall and awkward girl’. I have kept in touch with that girl to this day. She knows and sees that she was put here for a purpose, and she is blooming to her full potential.”

♫ "Haven't Even Kissed" 

The Story Behind the Song...

“I was dating the man who is now my husband. We were sitting on the couch watching Young Victoria.
I sat there realizing that we could sit there and not be tempted to kiss or have any physical contact. We could just have fun without getting physical. I had made a promise to save my first kiss for my wedding day (more on that in a little bit), so I made sure that my significant others knew that. Anyway Joel and I were watching a movie. Then this song hit me like a ton of bricks. I excused myself to go record this song that just came to me, before I went back to the couch and finished watching the movie.

When I had my first kiss on my wedding day, you can’t imagine how good it felt. It was like happiness, gladness, joy, and peace rushing through me. Happiness because God ignored my teenage prayers asking for a boyfriend when I was like twelve, and happiness because He answered my prayers for a man who would love Him more than he would love me. I felt gladness because I saved myself for the one I would spend the rest of my days with, and gladness because I didn't give in to temptation. I experienced joy because the day finally came. I had joy because my Jesus picked the perfect guy for me. I had peace because I knew that God was always taking care of me. He saw the big picture when I didn't.

I just really want to encourage girls. If you know that you’ve gone farther than you should’ve in a relationship, it is okay. God will forgive you. He died on the cross to wipe your sins white as snow. Because of His blood we are white. If you haven’t kissed yet, take heart. The day when you say ‘I do’ and promise yourself to your husband until the day that you are separated by death, the feeling that you will get shall be one of the most wonderful feelings you’ve ever felt.

Girls, in the end, I just really want to let you know that God has everything in control. Don’t force yourself into a relationship that isn’t ready to be opened up yet. All good things come from patience."

Fun Fact:
Moriah is married to Joel Smallbone of For King & Country. To hear about their Christ-centered love story from a male point of view, check out our interview with Joel! 
Click on the cover of the Royalty Issue to read! :)


Finishing The Race... 

"I’m headed down this narrow road chosen by the few, and all that I know is You told me to follow You.
 I’m taking a risk and leaving it all not knowing what I’ll go through, but I’m not alone as long as I follow You.
 So when my life’s a leap of faith, I can hear you say,
'Well done, well done,'
I’m going to chase You, Lord
I’m gonna show the world Your love."
*Lyrics to "Well Done" by Moriah P.


Moriah Says...

“Wide is the gate that leads to destruction, but narrow is the gate that leads to glory. As Christians we chose the path that not many have chosen, but we can have faith because God told us to follow Him. In life we will have trials, but through the power of Christ we can overcome them. Our life is a leap of faith, but our ultimate goal is to stand at the foot of Christ when our lives are complete, and to hear Him say, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Well done.’ As Christians, that should be what we strive to hear."
                                                                              ~*~

Just How "Brave" Is Moriah? 

Be sure to pick up her new album! You can follow Moriah on Twitter and Facebook or you can visit her website www.moriahpeters.com .

And to find out just how brave she truly is when it comes to living out her faith, check out the video below! She talks about auditioning for American Idol, and how standing up for Jesus meant sacrificing the opinion of three American Idol judges! Would YOU be brave enough to do what she did?  

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