PREPARING FOR WORSHIP

John 4:23-24  (Message)   "But the time is coming...it has, in fact, come...when what you're called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter.  It's who you are and the way you live that count before God.  Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth.  That's the kind of people the Father is looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship.  God is sheer being itself...Spirit.  Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."

Father I am asking Your guidance on this night, as I sit here to write.  I know what You want me to say, but the words are difficult.  I only want Your words coming here, not mine.  I love to worship You my God, I love to worship You.  To give You all my praise just for Your Supreme Being, Your Majesty, and then the heart felt words, Your goodness and love, Your precious presence.  There is nothing I would rather do than to spend all my days and nights worshiping You.  And I feel You know that about me, You can see my heart.

Worship, true worship to the Lord, comes from the heart.  It does not come from the vocal chords, it does not come from years of voice lessons.  Your worship is not how well you sing, it how much you love the Lord.  That is the worship He is looking for.  Your love, those words that can only come from your heart.  To prepare yourself for worship, when I prepare myself, I close my mind to all else except my Lord.  I let my mind go to Who the Lord is, What the Lord is, and how He loves me.  I think on the things that He has done for me, how He has held me through each night, seeing that I was rested, sleeping peacefully without any evilness coming into dreams to disturb me; I look at how He gets me up each morning with joy in my heart at another day with Him, and what He has planned for me.  I think about what the Word says about my relationship with my Father.  How my Father adores me, has loved me before I was a thought, before I had a breath, all these things enter my mind as I center everything around Him.  Then I put on some wonderful worship music and begin to worship first silently just letting my heart soar with the thoughts from my mind, on His goodness and love, on His beauty.  Then as I can no longer stand to keep silent, I lift  my voice to Him, sometimes singing with the music, sometimes with the words from my heart, but worshiping with all my love, all my heart.  I just worship.  My heart is prepared, my mind is centered on pleasing my Lord, my spirit is counting on His presence, that sweet presence that I know will be entering the room where He hears the worship coming from, where He hears my heart pouring out His praises.

Things take a little different tone when I prepare for Sunday worship as part of the praise and worship group at church.  I get up in the morning the same as each day, listening to worship music and praising His Holy Name, singing from my heart and loving on my Lord.  You might say I am tuning my heart to His.  You see you must be in tune with the Fathers heart to be in His ministry.  So I prepare myself to listen closely for His voice.  I get myself in line with Him.  Removing everything from my mind and heart except the knowledge of what will be pleasing to Him, knowing that I will be helping to lead others in worship to Him, and wanting so badly for their worship experience that day to glorify the Lord and usher in His presence as we corporately worship our Lord.

I have a problem sometimes though staying focused as I tend to get lost in the worship and fall away from the words, I begin to sing from my heart trying though to stay with the rest of our church family.  I know the Lord does not mind as the Holy Spirit sometimes leads  me in a different way, wanting to just draw us into the worshp that the Lord is listening for.  The Father is so listening for hearts that love Him.  And sometimes, we are rewarded by the beautiful presence of the Lord coming into the room, lingering to listen to those precious hearts of His children.  I am sad to say however, that sometimes, He leaves as the worship is cut short or just abruptly stops.  See, I can come prepared, my sweet brothers and sisters that are worshipers come prepared also, but when there are so many, and some hearts have not prepared for worship, then the flow will not continue.  But the Lord is so patient, and one day I know there will be an overflowing of worship in that place that will seem to never stop.  Glory to God, what a day that will be.  I know the Lord is waiting also.

But prepare.  Prepare to worship the Lord.  It doesn't take long. Just empty your mind, give your heart completely into your worship, thank the Lord for His goodness to you and love on Him.  Give Him the worship He deserves.  He does not deserve just a short little thank you Lord and quick song.  Look what He has done.  He has given all, can you not give your heartfelt thanks and worship to the wonderful King of Kings, the beautiful Lord of Lords.

I adore You, my Lord.  My Jesus, You have given all for me, to me.  I am sustained daily by the knowledge that Almighty God loves me so much, unconditionally, not for anything I am, but for Who He is.  I will worship You all my life, I will never cease to give You all my worship, all my love.  This 8th day of April, 2011, I am prepared for worship and I will worship You with all my heart.