Articles
Am I Ready For Worship?
How many of us have experienced a Sunday morning like this? The alarm was set, but the power went off briefly during the night and now the family is fifteen minutes behind schedule in getting ready for church. Dad wants to review his class notes, rehearse his songs, and read back over the Bible reading for the morning, but instead is having to fix breakfast, help lay out the kids’ clothes, and reset the clocks. Mom wants to cuddle with the kids as they wake up from sleep, but instead she is rushing through the house, dressing, fixing her hair, and preparing the food for lunch. The oldest is dragging slowly to the breakfast table where he will eat and then be involuntarily undressed, dressed, and have his teeth brushed, hair combed and shoes put on in a matter of seemingly seconds. The youngest, laughing and having fun, is running away from Mom and Dad, but is finally caught and put through a similar routine as the older brother, only to be annoyed with his parents’ unwillingness to play.
The parents finally make their way into the car only to find the gas gauge on “empty,” and a necessary stop will have to be made for gas. Any other Sunday there would be no traffic or train, but this morning they are delayed by both. Finally arriving at the building, they jump out and gather the Bibles, song books, blankets, sippy cups, etc., and rush into the building before realizing they left their children in the car. After recovering the children, they eagerly slip into the padded pew with a nice smile, a hello to the visitors, and a wipe of their brows to their friends. Another Sunday morning has become a horrible nightmare that seemingly occurs every week and has begun to strain their desire to be on time and worship God.
While this type of scenarios may not occur every week, its effect on our attitudes for worship can be detrimental. Instead of being rested and ready to worship the most high God, we are running on fumes and eager to just return home for an afternoon nap. We have failed to bring our best to God in worship and are instead thinking “at least we made it.” God has always required the best in worship, whether it be animal sacrifices or our own (Leviticus 22:17-25; Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 13:15) While for some these days rarely happen, for so many others this scenario describes a Sunday morning that has simply became a ritual. With this in mind, we must recognize that our worship of God can be hindered by these types of distractions, and our relationships with one another spiritually can be tested and ultimately lost, because our desire to worship is trumped by our unwillingness to establish better habits. Therefore, we must ask ourselves the question, “Are we prepared for worship?”
One may say, “I thought worship was supposed to be a spontaneous action, therefore there is no real need to be prepared.” If this was true, how would congregations react if their preachers stood up without any studying and commenced to talk for thirty minutes about nothing? If worship is not given direction, purpose and meaningful attention, then why do we even bother to meet every first day of the week? This was the attitude of the Jews in Malachi’s day when he said, “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar!” (Malachi 1:10). Worship must involve our hearts and that necessitates preparation (John 4:24; Matthew 15:8-9). We must recognize the need for preparation for worship in the commemoration of the Lord’s Supper. How would we react if every Sunday someone forgot to prepare the trays and we had wait for their preparation, instead of thinking about our Lord’s death? Our worship of God is hindered without the preparation of the trays, choice of songs that will be sung, and a lesson brought forth after a week of study.
Essentially our worship of God becomes more about bringing to Him our second best and empty tanks, than being rested, prepared, and having a proper attitude of worship. Instead of thinking about our awesome and glorious God, we think that God should just be happy that we made it this morning. We need to prepare for worship by making sure that we are bringing to God our very best every time we come together. Therefore, what are some practical ways to help our preparation for worship?
One way to help our preparation for worship is to eliminate as many problems as possible that would hinder or disrupt Sunday morning arrivals and attitudes at church. We may need to have multiple alarms ensuring that we wake up on time and not affected by a power outage. We may need to check the gas tank on our vehicles on Saturday night and make sure there is time allotted if there is a need for gas. We may need to simply wake up earlier on Sundays to assure ample time for the reviewing of our class notes, preparing both breakfast and lunch, and that we (parents) are ready to go prior to waking up the children. We can also assist in a proper attitude for worship by singing or listening to gospel music in the house on Sunday mornings to prepare our hearts and minds for the upcoming worship of God.
Another way to help in our preparation is by worshipping in the home. This will not only assist the parents to instill in their children a desire to worship God, but also a good teaching mechanism to help with minor behavioral problems. As parents, we can rehearse the elements of worship at home and can teach our children the purpose behind each act in worship. We can also use this as a tool to enable them to understand why they are to be quiet, respectful and content during periods of worship. If our children understand the importance of worship when they are young, maybe they will remain faithful when they grow older. A top priority needed in parents is a desire to worship God. If we grumble and complain about worship on Saturday night, our children will recognize this and learn to do the same on Sunday morning.
Worship of God should never be neglected or resented in the minds of Christians, but always remembered as a great privilege. We are rejuvenated spiritual, physically, and emotionally by worship that is truth-oriented and directed toward God. When we take the time on Sunday mornings to focus our minds upon the objective of giving God our best, then our worship, study, and fellowship with one another is raised to a higher level. We must prepare every week for worship, so that minor distractions will not prevent us from bringing God our best in worship.
