To continue our study of the 6 Essential Elements of your Daily Devotions, we are going to dig a little deeper in how and why we include individual worship in our daily spiritual practice.
What is Individual Worship?
Before we dig into how to worship in our daily devotions, we need to ask the root question. What is worship?
Pastor John Piper defines worship this way: “true worship is a valuing or a treasuring of God above all things.”
That’s actually a huge statement that truly covers our entire world view. It affects what we think about, how we treat people, our work priorities, our attitudes toward pleasure and money, and on and on.
So in truth, worship is not something we “do”, and it is certainly not limited to our daily devotional time. Instead, worship is something we “are”, or at least it is something we are becoming.
Pastor A.W. Tozer reminds us that we were created to worship and enjoy God forever.
Adam and Eve’s unique purpose in the garden was to bring pleasure, joy and fellowship to God, which is the foundation of all genuine worship.
A.W. Tozer, The Purpose of Man: Designed to Worship
This actually tells me a lot about why I need put a focus on individual worship in my personal devotional times. In truth, our entire devotional time is Worship! So we start out by focusing on who God is and how we relate to Him. That puts everything else we do in our devotional time into the proper perspective.
How do I worship in my private devotional time?
Pastor A.W. Tozer, in his great book “The Purpose of Man: Designed to Worship” lays out four areas to focus on during our time of intentional, individual worship.
- Confidence – in a great and good God.
- Admiration – thanks for the gifts, and awe and admiration of who God is.
- Fascination – do we love to think about God and how amazing he is?
- Adoration – praise God for who He is – powerful, loving, merciful, creative, and so much more.
I am often distracted as I start my morning devotional time, and not very creative. So starting off with worship can be a bit dry and routine. I need some help here.
In fact, we all need help with worship. We need the Spirit’s help or it will not be worship at all. Jesus said God requires that we worship in Spirit and in truth.
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
John 4:23-24 (ESV)
The “Spirit” part of that is our heart, or spirit, connecting and agreeing with God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit. So I always start my individual worship time by asking the Holy Spirit to help me connect with Him and agree with Him. I need His help.
We cannot worship if we are repeating a liturgy that is dead to us. (Although many liturgies are beautiful and worth exploring). We cannot worship by distractedly reading someone else’s prayer or hymn.
Even so, if we start with the psalms, or a hymn, or a favorite prayer, it can be the seed for a wonderful prayer time. I still cry when I sing “Amazing Grace”, even with my raspy voice. Joyful noise anyone?
I also love some of the Psalms as starting points. If you have not memorized Psalm 23 and used it for worship, you are missing out! Dietrich Bonhoeffer, author of The Cost of Discipleship, was the heroic Lutheran pastor executed in Germany during the second world war. In the years leading up to that war, he taught a school for upcoming Christian leaders and pastors. One of the requirements of that school was to pray and meditate on the Psalms every day, as a beginning point for worship.
So I start with something already created for me. During my study time, I often copy favorite worship verses into my journal, so they are available for another day. I have a couple of old-school hymnals that are packed with beautiful, theologically correct, worship hymns. Even the choruses I learned as a child can form a starting point for my worship.
The point is that you need to be prepared for your personal worship, in much the same way that your worship leader at church prepares for corporate worship. Search out the great hymns and psalms that you love and write them down, ready for use every morning as you go to pray.
A Caution about Personal, Individual Worship
One last thought about your personal worship. The point of worship is to align your mind and your heart with God. We want to agree with Him, down to the core of our souls, on absolutely everything.
Do not expect, or require, a surge of emotions during your worship time. In fact, do not even expect to “sense the Spirit’s presence.” I can tell from long hard experience that this is the road to frustration.
If you use your emotions as a way to validate your worship, your focus is on yourself. Instead you need to be focusing on God and who He is.
That’s not to say He will not be present, because He is always present. I am also NOT saying that you will never sense His presence, because often you will. But that is His choice, not yours. You cannot manipulate God into making you feel good.
So do what you know how to do, offering Him the sacrifice of praise that He deserves. Confess and repent of anything that is not in line with who He is and what He expects. Thank Him, in faith, for His presence.
Seek the Lord and his strength;
Psalm 105:4-6 (ESV)
seek his presence continually!
Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
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