What is worship?
Ever since February of last year, I have been thinking about this question. And I still have not come to a conclusion. It is something that is so highly held in today's Christian culture. There are worship nights, worship concerts, lessons on worship, worship bands, everything. But what does it all mean? I am not saying that it is a bad thing at all. It is throughout the Bible but I just want to dig deeper and really figure out what the Bible says about it. When I was in Germany, at bible school last year, we would worship on Sunday mornings but it was really different than I have experienced before. We had an acoustic guitar, piano, a cajon and singers. We would sing a lot of hymns and older songs. I really began to think about the words I was singing and well in love with those older songs. I liked how it wasn't a production but something that was from the heart. Then when I came back to the states, the first week I experienced worship again at another church. I felt awkward. I didn't know what to do. I felt as though that everything was about "feeling" the presence of God. I heard people speak in tongues. There were a lot of lights. It felt like a production. And since that point, I have been really skeptical about worship. I started thinking about the words I sang. It was hard for me to do this thing called worship. And it has been that way ever since. Since then, when someone prays or sings a song, I really think about what they are saying, taking it into my mind and mulling it over, comparing it to the knowledge that I have and seeing if it was correct. This would happen everywhere. And it wasn't till this morning that I realized something. I realized how big my pride is. I think my way is right and everyone should pray the way that I think is theologically correct. All of the songs that are sung should be correct also. I am wrong in doing that. I should look at the heart of those words, knowing that the person who is praying or singing them means them. I need prayer. I need guidance but most of all, I need Jesus. Look what happens when I think my way is better than God's. I am still seeking what it means to worship but I have found something, I need to get my own pride out of the way to do so.
"I can't- He never said I could, but He can and said He always would."
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I heard a sermon recently (can't remember who it was from) that discussed all of the various types of worship that exist...all so starkly different in appearance, but all worshiping the same God. The speaker talked about how when we walk into a worship service that is completely different than we're used to, or that we may not agree with on the surface, that more often than not, we close ourselves off to the Lord using that venue of worship to speak to us. He then proposed that instead of immediately closing ourselves off when we approach the unfamiliar, we should walk into this unfamiliar setting and simply pray, "God, open my mind to what it is You want to reveal to me in this place."
ReplyDeleteThe same goes for different speakers. Having chapel as a daily requirement, I often encounter speakers who on the surface appear to be boring and outdated. So now instead of simply concluding that this washed up person can reveal no truth to me, I will pray the the Lord can use that man or woman to speak to me and that He can prepare my ears and mind to hear it and be accepting of it.
But I love that you are digging so deeply into these concepts. Your passion is so apparent, Lukey...keep it up!
luke. i just love this. your ending is so humbling and so beautiful to read. what a great work the LORD is doing in your life! so often we can become consumed in 'our' faith. the way we worship, the way we pray, the way we interact with God. so, it becomes the standard for us...and, soon it becomes a standard we use to judge others. for, anything else is sub-par or less than. i have caught myself in this position so many times, and each time i must remind myself that God's way is so much better than my own. i will begin to pray that the LORD would begin to reveal His way to you, and that you may begin to embrace that way.
ReplyDeleteit was such a refreshment to read your thoughts! love you!