Learning his vocabulary

“I dedicated one whole year to learning how to live with a perpetual openness to Jesus as my present Teacher. I determined to learn his vocabulary: is he addressing me through those singing birds or that sad face? I sought to allow him to move through every action: my fingers while writing, my voice while speaking. My desire was to punctuate each minute with inward whisperings of adoration, praise, and thanksgiving. Often I failed for hours, even days at a time. But each time I came back and tried again. That year did many things for me, but it especially heightened my sense of expectancy in public worship. After all, he had graciously spoken to me in dozens of little ways throughout the week; he will certainly speak to me here as well. In addition, I found it increasingly easier to distinguish his voice from the blare of everyday life.

“When more than one or two come into public worship with a holy expectancy, it can change the atmosphere of a room. People who enter harried and distracted are drawn quickly into a sense of the silent Presence. Hearts and minds are lifted upward. The air becomes charged with expectancy.”
Richard Foster

I don’t think that any of us know what to expect when it comes to worship. Sometimes we walk into a worship service and we are already frustrated at the happenings of the day, and then we start getting distracted. You are worried about a relationship, you are upset that the song leader is singing too many songs you don’t know, you are tired, you may fall asleep, you have a problem with the sermon, or the minister, and the list keeps going on. When we focused on worship early on in this spiritual formation process I quoted the above thoughts from Richard Foster. What if we did enter into a worship service with this attitude? What if we entered into every day with this attitude? Can you imagine what would happen?

During one of our devotional experiences we lit candles and prayed and sang songs for close to 45 minutes. I thought that it was an amazing time of drawing nearer to God. So many of you felt the same way as I did and we walked away with such an uplifted spirit.

Psalm 63
O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.

I have personally been thirsting for God ever since that moment. It was a longing, but it was something that even when I had those times of worship, it just left me wanting more. Did you feel that way? It was pure. It was holy. Do we desire more of that? I think we can all say a resounding yes. How can we try and make sure that it happens? We need to start by expecting God to work in the lives of those we work with, those we work for, and those we come in contact with every day. Spend some time in worship today. Take a few minutes and just sing, or put on some Christian music and just sing at the top of your voice. Pray constantly and deeply for those you love. Worship begins right where you are. You do not have to be in a pew on a Sunday morning to experience it. I am expecting things to change in the lives of those who are reading this right now. God, please bless each heart and help them to seek you and praise you with wholehearted devotion. The more we stay in the presence of God, the easier it becomes to see those worship moments every day of our lives.

Start expecting God to move and look around for the change.

Your fellow worshiper,

Jason