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Notes on Prayer~ Worship~
Service
John 4:24 says, "God
is Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit
and in Truth."
2 Corinthians
5:6 says to be present in the body is to be absent
form the Lord. Therefore, in order to go to God who is Spirit, we
must meet with Him in spirit, that is, in prayer. (Romans 8:26,27 shows how the Spirit intercedes for us in prayer even when we don't
know what to say.) I don't think that worship is limited to prayer
only though -- but every act that we do must be bathed in
prayer if it is to be truly a good work. Just as we are instructed
in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to "pray without ceasing". Therefore
prayer is not only that time when we resort to our closet and get
on our knees (Matthew
6:6), but also throughout the day as we walk and talk
with our Father in the secret place of the heart, seeking Him and
communicating with Him without ceasing. To me, this is one of the
most wonderful gifts of our salvation, -- that I can stay connected
to the Lord constantly. The Lord has shown me that this is most
definitely His will for us too. I have the greatest peace when every
thought, every concern and stress, every trouble and every joy is
brought before Him (Psalm 16:8). Just as Isaiah 26:3 says,
"Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on
thee: because he trusts in thee." When I am in my right mind
and not neglecting the Lord (to my own hurt and His grief) I am
speaking with Him constantly. Much of the time my thoughts toward
Him are: 'help me Lord'-- 'help me do a good job today'--'help me
to be kind' -- 'work in me to bear the fruits of Christ's righteousness,
for your glory -- reveal yourself in me'-- 'show others how wonderful
you are as you shine forth in me' etc. 'work love in me' -- 'cause
me to be lowly minded as Christ was on earth' etc.etc. Other times
my thoughts to Him are: 'deliver me from this vain thinking' 'deliver
me, deliver me' These prayers are sometimes filled with intense
desperation as I beg the Lord for His mercy to forgive and deliver.
Sometimes my prayers to Him are: 'forgive me for not speaking to
you for the last four hours' --'for not depending on you, for not
acknowledging you in all my ways'.
Worship perhaps, in it's most basic
meaning, means to give your attention to something or someone. I
think that is why we are instructed to have our minds stayed on
Him (Isaiah 26:3) and also Proverbs
3:5,6 which calls us to acknowledge Him in all our ways.
In 1 Peter
2:5 it says we are made
priests so that we may offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God through Jesus Christ. Among offering God our attention, there
are other offerings that we are to give Him. Hebrews 13:15,16
speaks of praise, doing good, and communicating with others all
in the sense of offering sacrifice unto God. Another verse that
refers to communicating to others in terms of offering sacrifice
is Hosea 14:2. In fact, I have found that the Lord often uses
this idea of communicating to others, right along with praising
Him, and offering thanksgiving or vows to God. All in the sense
of offering sacrifice to Him (see verses below). Of course He only
accepts our sacrifices because of the One Great Sacrifice that the
Lord Jesus made in our behalf to give us access unto the Father
(see Ecclesiastes 9:7, Romans 5:2). Nevertheless,
the Lord calls us to worship Him daily offering up "spiritual
sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1 Peter
2:6). Romans 12:1 in the light of Mark 8:34,35 speaks of sacrificing to Him as we deny this body
and use it for God's service and not for sin. Romans 12:2 reminds us how this can be achieved. Romans 1:9 says, "For God is my witness, whom I serve
with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing
I make mention of you always in my prayers;" All these acts
of worship are the result of constant prayer with God. Just as Philippians 4:6 says "...in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to
God".
Now this calling we have of offering
to God is what I believe most true believers in our day are straying
away from. When the Lord saves us, the product of this is that we
pledge to maintain a clear conscience before Him, being instructed
by Him that Jesus' atoning work can accomplish this for us (1 Peter 3:21,
Hebrews
9:14) and as often as we stray we can return to the
Lord for forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9).
Jesus said in John
13:10once a person has
been washed (or saved) then he needs only to wash his feet. Now
feet are sometimes a reference to the display of the Gospel, remember
Isaiah 52:7 "How beautiful upon the mountains are the
feet of him that brings good tidings" (note that "good
tidings" or "good news" is what the word "Gospel"
means). I think the Lord uses this picture because messengers were
often runners, traveling by foot (unsure, but for whatever reason,
God uses it) In John
13:10 Jesus was saying once we are saved we need to only
have our feet washed -- that is, our ability to communicate the
Gospel needs to be washed. And we are to wash one another's feet
so that we help each other to be effective witnesses.
Now remember that I said that communicating
to others, praising God, offering thanksgiving, and paying vows
are often all used in the same sense? Communicating the Gospel is
a means of praising God: because God's righteousness is revealed
in it (Romans1:17). Psalm 51:12-15 shows
how declaring the Gospel and seeking the salvation of others is
an expression of thanksgiving (and praise). See here how it is all
in the context of offering sacrifice unto God too (Psalm 51:16,17) which involves a broken and contrite spirit. Psalm 69:29-32 is another example of this means of offering sacrifice.
Notice how verse 32 says "the humble shall see..." Psalm 116:14 says "I will pay my vows unto the LORD now
in the presence of all His people." What vows? The vows that
we made when He saved us, that we would be diligent to seek a clear
conscience before Him through His grace. This involves serving Him.
Serving Him results in the salvation of others. Remember Jonah?
What did Jonah say when he came to his senses (the hard way) and
surrendered to do God's will? Jonah 2:9 "But I will sacrifice unto You with the
voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed."
Then Jonah went to Nineveh to declared God's word to them and to
fulfill his vow. Notice this theme also in Jonah 1:16 as the
men in the ship are shown as an example of someone becoming saved
(here Jonah is a type of Christ as they obey God and allowed Him
to perish for their salvation). Another way to look at how the saved
person vows unto the Lord is to think of the institution of marriage.
In a marriage there are "marital vows". When we become
saved we are married to Christ and we vow unto Him as He has vowed
(Psalm 56:12,13) to complete
our salvation. Even though the work is His, the evidence of that
work is a willing heart within us to do His will, and to
seek His grace to perform His will. This is our vow. And this is
a means of worship, to continually perform this vow and offer unto
the Lord continually spiritual sacrifices of praise, thanksgiving
(1 Thessalonians 5:18), and doing good. These are all inter-related. And remember that all
these are summed up in that one work of seeking to communicate the
Gospel to others. This, more specifically, is our vow.
We can never repay God for the
salvation He has given us, but what we can do is thank Him, and
praise Him by seeking to be His instrument in the salvation of others
-- by seeking to communicate to others the reality that Jesus exists,
that He is love and that in Him is life -- in all that we
do -- that others might know Him and be saved from the consequences
of their sins (see John 17:3) This is God's will for us, and the calling that
He has given us in this world. This is our opportunity of service
(Matthew 25:40). And seeking to fulfill this is the performance
of our vow, and is abiding in His love (see John 15:12,13).
Here is a good example of the vow
we make when the Lord saves us:
Gen 28:20,21 "And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will
be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give
me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to
my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:"
[he says, "then shall the Lord be my God" meaning He will
be mine (my God) and I will be His --he will be God of my life and
my life will be in service to Him -- not unlike a marital vow]
Here are some more verses
on vows:
Psalm 65:1 "Praise
waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be
performed."
Psalm 61:5 "For
thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage
of those that fear thy name."
Psalm 61:8 "So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever,
that I may daily perform my vows." (remember that singing praise
is often a synonym for communicating the Gospel)
Psalm 50:14 "Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy
vows unto the most High:"
Ecclesiastes 5:4,5
"When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not
to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou
hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that
thou shouldest vow and not pay."
Isaiah 19:19-21 "In that day shall there be an altar to the
LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border
thereof to the LORD. And it shall be for a sign and for a witness
unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry
unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them
a saviour, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. And the LORD
shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the LORD in
that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation; yea, they shall vow
a vow unto the LORD, and perform it." (this is an interesting
passage set in an end-times context, though some of it has been
true all through the New Testament. Egypt represents the world here,
which believers are a part of)
Nahum 1:15"Behold upon the mountains the
feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows:
for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut
off." (see here again how the idea of performing thy vows
is related to him that brings good tidings --the one who
declares the Gospel.)
One more verse:
As we worship the Lord by offering
up to Him our attention (in prayer) and offering up to Him good
works (namely communicating the Gospel -- bathed in prayer) wonderfully
we are also offering up something else. As Isaiah 66:19,20
says:
"And I will set a sign among
them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations,
to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan,
to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have
seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the
LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in
litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain
Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering
in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD."
If you should have questions or comments about what is said
or have need for additional verses, please send an e-mail by Clicking Here
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