Spiritual Discipline: Worship

The discipline of worship.  That sounds kind of strange, doesn't it?  And yet, who hasn't had that time when the time to get up and get ready for worship came, and we thought that it would be much nicer to stay in bed, or to go do some other activity. 

Or, we can think of it also along these lines.  We're in the place of worship, and yet, our mind keeps wandering to other things going on in life.  We're distracted by the clothes some younger person is wearing, or we don't like the music or songs chosen for the day.  The preacher is boring and has already covered this topic before, so we start to think of what we will do when we leave. 

First, we need to be reminded of one thing.  God is the one who is doing the primary action when we gather for worship.  We hear God's Word, during which time God's Spirit works in our hearts and minds.  God forgives us of our sins, as that word of forgiveness is spoken to us.  The reality of the cross once again comes crashing into our lives, and Jesus blood continually covers us.  Then, even as we sing our songs and hymns of thanks and praise, God's Spirit works to strengthen our faith.  God does the primary action.

True, there are times when our worship can "feel" boring.  The comfort of well-known traditions may lend themselves to complacency.  We may have other things going on in life that distract our thoughts.  And yet, God is still working there.  Sure, we may "get more" out of it when we focus and pay attention, but the good news is, God's Spirit still works, even when our focus and attention may not be at its best.

So what do I mean by the discipline of worship?  It's taking away the things that resist or distract us from God's Spirit as He seeks to do His work in us.  It's paying attention to the words of the songs or hymns, more than the musical tunes.  It's hearing what the Word says to us, not focusing on how familiar it may be.  It's realizing that God is the primary one acting upon us, and that He truly takes great delight in our thanks, our praise, and our prayers.  It's realizing that the time together is about God, and about God's work in our lives, and not some habit or ritual that we attend to.