Worship Wednesday – Prayer

“to honor or reverence as a divine being or supernatural power” and “to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion“

We could easily worship someone and never have a conversation with them. It happens all the time with celebrities. But. If you worship someone – wouldn’t you WANT to have a conversation with them? My God is a God of relationships. He WANTS to have conversations with us. He doesn’t want us to be distant or intimidated by Him. And prayer is our vehicle for that conversation. Yet I often find my prayers are of the “vending machine” variety.

“Dear Lord, please help this conversation go well.”

“Dear Lord, please give me energy.”

“Dear Lord, please heal, please give, please help….”

I think God wants to hear our requests and desires but I think those requests should be tempered with a desire to want what He wants, a desire to know Him more. Too often my prayers revolve around what I want, whether that’s “interceding” for someone else or just looking to minimize – or eliminate – discomfort in my own life. But if my prayer life focused on WORSHIP, if I spent my prayer time revering and praising and thanking God, how would my perspective change?

Worship Wednesday – Distractions

I truly believe one of Satan’s most effective tools against the Jesus follower is distraction. I can attest that’s true for me.

Whenever I think of worship, Brother Lawrence comes to mind. I had really only heard of him in passing and always associated him with making the act of washing dishes an act of worship. That was about all I knew. So I downloaded “his” book “The Practice of the Presence of God” (not an affiliate link, just for reference) It’s not difficult to read. The concept is actually quite simple…and yet incredibly difficult. I have, admittedly, not read the whole  book yet. I got about halfway through and got…distracted. But what I have taken away so far is that his entire life, physically, emotionally and mentally, was centered on Christ. Every thought was submitted to Him, every action. And when he realized it wasn’t, he IMMEDIATELY returned to that practice. Nothing in the book indicates that this easy. The title even indicates it’s a practice. But I was overwhelmingly impressed with his dedication to it.

I feel like this practice of abiding (now THERE’S a word Christians have taken over) fully in God’s presence all the time is the key to true worship. We can’t “regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion” if we are not focused on the object of our worship. Regard. Consider or think on, gaze at steadily in a specified fashion, pay attention or heed. How often during your daily tasks do you regard God? I know I don’t very often. I’m pretty good about it first thing in the morning, while the rest of the house snoozes and I sip my coffee with a cat in my lap. I’ve made a habit of stopping during the day to pray about specific requests that comes to my attention. Yesterday I had a moment of overwhelming gratitude for my job and I paused to thank God for it. (That’s not a daily occurrence by the way. I love my job but I’m rarely overwhelmed by that.) But while I’m planning or cooking dinner or helping my kid with his horrendous math homework or in the gym…I am not filtering those activities through conversation with God. Because those very activities can be a distraction or they can be a vehicle to worship the God that grants me the ability to perform those activities.  And right now, they are a distraction.

Right now (always), I’m easily distracted. I committed to focus more on God and immediately all these shiny thoughts hit my brain to draw me away. Even while praying this morning, my mind kept drifting to my grocery list…the grocery list that I hadn’t even considered before I started trying to pray!

I don’t have the answer or solution. But I think Brother Lawrence did. Practice. And as soon as I realize I’m not practicing, start again.

Worship Wednesday – More than Music

If you are firmly entrenched in the western Christian culture (the only one I can honestly speak on), when you hear the word “worship”, chances are you think of Hillsong United or Elevation Worship. Or maybe you think of Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant. Or…I don’t know…Gaither? It depends on your generation but generally, when we say “worship” we mean “music”.  Our churches hire Worship Leaders specifically to stand on a stage and lead the congregation in a sing-along. Sadly church, or church like events, or concerts, are pretty much the only place where a room full of people will burst into song. Except maybe an Irish pub. I would love to start a movie theater or restaurant sing along…without getting kicked out or arrested. Alas….

Merriam-Webster defines worship as “to honor or reverence as a divine being or supernatural power” and “to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion” I find it interesting that both of these definitions are verbs and nothing is mentioned about a group being involved. In other words, worship should be something we DO whether we are with other people or following someone on a stage or not. So yes, singing at church (or in your car) can totally be worship…if it is to honor or show reverence to God and not as habit or entertainment. But worship can encompass so. much. more. What I don’t think it is? A feeling. Music is so intricately tied to our emotions that it’s easy for me to think that I have to be “moved” to worship. But can driving to the grocery store be worship? Grocery shopping? Any of the mundane every day tasks?

I think the answer to that is “yes”. I know it is. I’ve heard it preached a million times but what does that LOOK like? I suspect it looks like inviting God into those every day moments. I suspect it looks like putting His glory at the center of everything. I suspect it means that if I sing passionately on Sunday morning because the music, not God, moves me then I’m not worshipping. But if I buy milk with a reverent mindset and aim to be a beacon of light to every person that I cross paths with, then that is worship.

Somehow I don’t feel like I’ve really clarified anything. But it gives me food for thought…and something to be aware of. I’ll report back.

 

Worship Wednesday – What is this?

What is Worship Wednesday?

That’s a very good question. And honestly? I’m not 100% certain what this means. For a few weeks now I’ve been feeling this…compulsion…to write. Write more. Write meaningfully. Write with purpose. But really? When do I have the opportunity to sit down and write? And what content do I have to offer right now? Psh.

Last Monday I started to feel a low level current of anxiety thrum through me. I felt as if I was waiting for a shoe to drop, for something to fall apart, like I was forgetting something that was going to have severe consequences. Last Wednesday it finally occurred to me to sit down and pray. Since it had taken me two days to get to the point of focused, deliberate prayer it is probably no surprise to hear God immediately saying “When is the last time you spent time with Me?” Ah. Ah-ha. I thanked Him for the insight and hurried on with everything that needed to get done. The feeling of doom was mostly gone but I still scurried about that evening with a slight nagging sensation that something was missing. (I know. I KNOW.)

Last Thursday we had a (three hour) division meeting at work. And it was focused on….the daily practice of prayer. And writing.

I am not even kidding. Also, I am a little dense and apparently needed to be trapped in a room for three hours to “get it”.

I returned to my desk and downloaded an app for “guided” prayer/praying through Scripture two-three times a day. And then I honestly asked God what this writing piece was supposed to look like. And the phrase that came to mind was “Worship Wednesday”.

So here we are. For now I will be writing about what worship is, and specifically, what it looks like in my life. I have no idea how that will play out. But I guess God does.