"Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with Thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms." Psalm 95:1-2
Most religious services begin with some form of worship, in Christianity and most other world religions. It's usually musical in nature, though not always, and is designed to get the mind and the heart ready to be in the presence of God and learn from the teacher. In fact, as a musician myself, it's probably my favorite part of the service, although I will admit, not always for the right reasons. Sometimes, I really just enjoy hearing incredible musicians playing incredible music. Whether it's contemporary full band, more traditional piano and organ, a cappella choir, or even good 'ole Southern gospel bluegrass, I can appreciate talented musicians giving their gifts back to the King.
Recently, I was having one of those Sunday mornings where I was mostly just listening and enjoying the tunes rather than worshipping, and I started to think about the importance of my worship to God. I know it's about praises and reverence, but just how much of a role does it play in the relationship I have with Him? I mean, how many countless times does the Bible talk about singing or shouting praises to Him with Thanksgiving. It's got to be important, right?
In a message a few weeks ago, Pastor Robert Morris was preaching on daily "Quiet Time." I thought, I try to do that. I read my Bible and I pray, albeit not nearly as often as I should, and I sing along with the worship songs on the radio. I'm not perfect, but I get to it when I can. Certainly not every day, but life gets busy. Then he outlined what God had told him years ago about how to handle his daily quite time. And I was surprised to hear that the emphasis wasn't on the Bible or even learning more about God. Don't get me wrong, those are still important things, but the "quiet time" was simply about spending time in His presence. It's intimate quality time with Him, and is easy to initiate with singing.
Now I'm not a very good singer, so it's difficult for me to think that my singing could bring praise to God. In fact, I often picture Him with His hands over His ears saying, "That's wonderful, thank you, I think that's enough praising for today." (Sarcastically, of course.) But I find it interesting that, especially when I've been in the habit of spending time with God more often, I typically wake up with a worship song stuck in my head. Sometimes I just heard the song the day before, and sometimes it's been ages since I heard the song, but it's almost as if my spirit wakes up praising the King. And usually the song is exactly what I need to hear that day. God is actually providing me with the perfect worship to prepare my heart to enter into His presence.
It provides a whole new perspective for me. I might not be able to find the time to spend an hour or more reading the Bible every day. (It's okay, judge me if you're one of those people.) But I can take a few minutes to quietly clear my mind, sing a praise to my King, pray and just be in His presence. Not focusing on time but focusing on Him. From now on, I'm not going to just start out church with worship, I'm going to start out my life with worship. And I bet more opportunities will arise for all the other parts of God's plan in my life.
Most religious services begin with some form of worship, in Christianity and most other world religions. It's usually musical in nature, though not always, and is designed to get the mind and the heart ready to be in the presence of God and learn from the teacher. In fact, as a musician myself, it's probably my favorite part of the service, although I will admit, not always for the right reasons. Sometimes, I really just enjoy hearing incredible musicians playing incredible music. Whether it's contemporary full band, more traditional piano and organ, a cappella choir, or even good 'ole Southern gospel bluegrass, I can appreciate talented musicians giving their gifts back to the King.
Recently, I was having one of those Sunday mornings where I was mostly just listening and enjoying the tunes rather than worshipping, and I started to think about the importance of my worship to God. I know it's about praises and reverence, but just how much of a role does it play in the relationship I have with Him? I mean, how many countless times does the Bible talk about singing or shouting praises to Him with Thanksgiving. It's got to be important, right?
In a message a few weeks ago, Pastor Robert Morris was preaching on daily "Quiet Time." I thought, I try to do that. I read my Bible and I pray, albeit not nearly as often as I should, and I sing along with the worship songs on the radio. I'm not perfect, but I get to it when I can. Certainly not every day, but life gets busy. Then he outlined what God had told him years ago about how to handle his daily quite time. And I was surprised to hear that the emphasis wasn't on the Bible or even learning more about God. Don't get me wrong, those are still important things, but the "quiet time" was simply about spending time in His presence. It's intimate quality time with Him, and is easy to initiate with singing.
Now I'm not a very good singer, so it's difficult for me to think that my singing could bring praise to God. In fact, I often picture Him with His hands over His ears saying, "That's wonderful, thank you, I think that's enough praising for today." (Sarcastically, of course.) But I find it interesting that, especially when I've been in the habit of spending time with God more often, I typically wake up with a worship song stuck in my head. Sometimes I just heard the song the day before, and sometimes it's been ages since I heard the song, but it's almost as if my spirit wakes up praising the King. And usually the song is exactly what I need to hear that day. God is actually providing me with the perfect worship to prepare my heart to enter into His presence.
It provides a whole new perspective for me. I might not be able to find the time to spend an hour or more reading the Bible every day. (It's okay, judge me if you're one of those people.) But I can take a few minutes to quietly clear my mind, sing a praise to my King, pray and just be in His presence. Not focusing on time but focusing on Him. From now on, I'm not going to just start out church with worship, I'm going to start out my life with worship. And I bet more opportunities will arise for all the other parts of God's plan in my life.
Father, thank you for the chance to spend quality time with You daily. Even if I don't spend hours reading chapters of Your Word, I will press into You, worship You and be near to You, because by taking that small step, You will meet me where I am and the rest of Your plan will unfold. You are a good, good Father, and I am loved by You. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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