Using worship as worship
It is amazing how we can use one thing for another purpose! I am sometimes amused in church listening to the intercessions as they can sound far more like the notices than the prayers as God is told exactly where and when certain events are taking place!
I wonder if we sometimes use worship in a similar way? Worship can be defined in many ways, but at the heart of it there is something about deliberately acknowledging God for who he is. It is about lifting our eyes off our current situation and fixing them on the wonder of who he is, and thereby enlarging our vision of him.
My feeling is that sometimes we worship because we feel we ought to, perhaps at the beginning of a meeting or before we pray for someone. However, if worship is about enlarging our vision, then the reason we worship is because we need to. We need to have our vision of God expanded, and we need help to recognise that the problems facing us and others are not the biggest issues in life.
I have heard it said that the reason God wants us to worship is not because it gives him a boost, but because he knows that if we worship then our own lives are transformed and enriched as we put our gaze firmly upon him.
I wonder if we sometimes use worship in a similar way? Worship can be defined in many ways, but at the heart of it there is something about deliberately acknowledging God for who he is. It is about lifting our eyes off our current situation and fixing them on the wonder of who he is, and thereby enlarging our vision of him.
My feeling is that sometimes we worship because we feel we ought to, perhaps at the beginning of a meeting or before we pray for someone. However, if worship is about enlarging our vision, then the reason we worship is because we need to. We need to have our vision of God expanded, and we need help to recognise that the problems facing us and others are not the biggest issues in life.
I have heard it said that the reason God wants us to worship is not because it gives him a boost, but because he knows that if we worship then our own lives are transformed and enriched as we put our gaze firmly upon him.
So what has this to do with encounterprayer?
When we lead people in encounterprayer, we begin by worshipping the Father. We are not talking to them about God’s love, nor making the case for a loving God despite any difficulties they might be going through; rather, we are deliberately choosing to focus on the one who is above and beyond all things.
It is important, though, not to regard this simply as part of encounterprayer. Returningto the central truth of the Father’s amazing love for us is a necessary, God-given adjustment that we need to make to our lives - not just when we pray for people but as often as possible. Time and time again we need to return to this truth to prevent it from being swamped by all the other messages crowding our lives, telling us how much more appealing we would be if only we looked or acted differently. The joy of being loved by Father God is that there is nothing more we can do to ‘get’ him to love us any more than he does already.
Basking in the wonder of God’s love, and helping others to do the same, must surely be the most beautiful - and effective - way of beginning a time of prayer.
John Ryeland
When we lead people in encounterprayer, we begin by worshipping the Father. We are not talking to them about God’s love, nor making the case for a loving God despite any difficulties they might be going through; rather, we are deliberately choosing to focus on the one who is above and beyond all things.
It is important, though, not to regard this simply as part of encounterprayer. Returningto the central truth of the Father’s amazing love for us is a necessary, God-given adjustment that we need to make to our lives - not just when we pray for people but as often as possible. Time and time again we need to return to this truth to prevent it from being swamped by all the other messages crowding our lives, telling us how much more appealing we would be if only we looked or acted differently. The joy of being loved by Father God is that there is nothing more we can do to ‘get’ him to love us any more than he does already.
Basking in the wonder of God’s love, and helping others to do the same, must surely be the most beautiful - and effective - way of beginning a time of prayer.
John Ryeland
