Pray for an Explosion of Deeper Worship in Spirit and Truth By ATENODE HEALTH Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks (Jn 4:23, also 1 Sam l 15:22; Ps 29:2; Is 1:12-17, 58:1-8; Amos 5:23-24). It is God’s heart passion that His people worship Him in Spirit and truth. Indeed, our very reason for existence is to continually worship and obey God with great sincerity and passion. In both the Old and New Testaments, God earnestly desires for His people to worship Him with great power, intensity and purity. In fact, He is literally “offended” by worship that is shallow and disconnected from obedience. (Isaiah 1:12-14, 58:1-8; Amos 5:20) Throughout history, great spiritual awakenings always result in newly impassioned worship. God is ever-seeking worship in Spirit and truth, not the mere singing of high-sounding words that do not match our lifestyles. (John 4:23) In fact, if we don’t mean what we sing, pray or preach, our worship becomes seriously offensive to God! While we should certainly sing hymns, choruses and spiritual songs, we must also commit to embrace what we sing. It is crucial to understand that true worship is far more than singing. It is praying, praising, responding to God’s word and living it in daily life. A major element of seeking revival and preparing for Christ’s return is to seek a powerful personal and corporate deepening of true worship. True worship is primarily about whole life surrender and full obedience, not the mere singing of songs and choruses. Worship involves ever-deeper repentance with the love and passion to live in obedience. In other words, it is quite useless to sing choruses like “You’re All I Need” when I will not even commit to a serious daily quiet time. Merely singing certain words or getting a gushy feeling are not the same as personally embracing the professed words in lifestyle obedience. God is not worshipped by the lip-service of high-sounding words or emotional lyrics that do not match our lifestyles. He is ever seeking a worship of true heart passion and obedience. (1 Samuel 15:22) In worship, God desires utter sincerity and truth. Think about it. If I sing “Brokenness is All I Long For” yet consistently fail to allow God to search my heart, I am essentially singing a lie. Would it not be seriously disingenuous to sing I Surrender All if I am robbing God by refusing to tithe and give offerings? (Malachi 3:7-8) Indeed, it would! (Matthew 15:8) Since we cannot “work up or fake” sincere worship, we must pray for a deeper worship of Spirit and truth to grip our hearts. But along with our prayers, we must embrace the disciplines of serious Bible study, fervent prayer, fasting and life surrender that true worship requires. Dear saints, let us pray for God to teach us true worship. But, let us pray with faith and hope. God definitely wants to deepen us in worship! (John 4:23) Blessed Father and Son, You are worthy of all praise and worship all the time. We understand we were created to worship You in pure adoration, holiness and love. Teach us to worship You in the beauty of holiness and in Spirit and truth. Forgive us for singing songs without embracing the pledges we sing. Guide us into a pure love and worship revealed in obedience and holiness. Please move us to a worship that is far more about heart and surrender than music styles and personal preferences. Fill us with a worship that is more about Your glory and pleasure than our earthly comforts. Lord, You are worthy of all glory, praise and honor all the time! Grant to us a pure worship in Spirit and truth. Lord, I repent and commit to worship You more fully in Spirit and truth. I covenant to embrace a lifestyle of worship by full obedience and surrender. I trust You to fill me with a spirit of continual worship in the beauty of holiness. As a church we commit to stress lifestyle obedience to the songs and prayers we profess.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 13:47:41 +0000
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