Enjoying God in Worship

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Enjoying God in Worship

Scripture is full of exhortations to worship God. Of course, we worship with our whole lives (Romans 12:1), and we worship God corporately together in our Sunday meetings. But what about worshipping in our daily devotional lives? What does that look like practically?

Scripture is full of worship, for example, the Psalms. They don't provide us with a formula, but they do offer a helpful framework; desire, praise, thanksgiving, delight, intimacy.

Desire

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for the living God. (Psalm 42:1-2)

Worship starts with a desire and longing to know God and to encounter His presence. We come in the name of Jesus who has made a way for us to enter into the presence of the Father, with the help of the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to help you worship.

Praise

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! (Psalm 100:1-2)

Praise is the appropriate place to start because it's a natural response to who God is and what he has done for us. Sing! Singing is a crucial element in the life of faith. It doesn't matter whether you have a good voice or not, you are singing for an audience of one who loves you! Sing songs you know, sing scripture, sing spiritual songs, sing along to a playlist (see below), just sing!

Think about your posture whilst you praise. The Psalms are full of exhortations to get physical; clap your hands, lift your hands, bow down, dance even. Go for it!

Thanksgiving

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving (Psalm 95:2)

Thanksgiving is the basic response of a heart that recognises the beauty, majesty, and kindness of God. Thanksgiving is also an antidote to so much of the influence of the world. Spend time thanking God for who He is, be specific, and name is attributes, and for what He has done in your life. Gratitude isn't an emotion, but it will affect and shape your emotions and help you to remember all the good things of God.

Delight

“Delight yourself also in the LORD and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

Delighting yourself in the Lord means enjoying Him and finding peace, satisfaction, fulfillment, and joy in His presence. Blocking out other thoughts, priorities, to-do lists, and other distractions, delighting is characterised by fewer words and instead, heartfelt devotion, adoration, and longing (John 4:23). It is about enjoying God and expressing our heart for Him.

Intimacy

“for me it is good to be near God” (Psalm 73:28)

Whilst we know God's presence is everywhere, there are also moments where we can feel the intimate presence of God with us. Intimate times in his presence can bring revelation, inner transformation, hearing his voice with clarity, deep security, and assurance of his love. 

Additional resources;

...the Christian who goes for a long time without the experience of heart warming will soon find himself tempted to have his emotions satisfied from earthly things, and not, as he ought, from the Spirit of God. The soul is so constituted that it craves fulfilment from things outside itself and will embrace earthly joys for satisfaction when it cannot reach spiritual ones. The believer is in spiritual danger if he allows himself to go for any length of time without tasting of the love of Christ and savouring the felt comforts of the Saviour’s presence.

When Christ ceases to fill the heart with satisfaction our souls will go in silent search of other lovers. By the enjoyment of the love of Christ in the heart of the believer, we mean an experience of the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us. (Rom.5:5)

- John Flavel

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