Moving toward God through intentional practice
The practices we keep in life shape and form us along the way. Being intentional about those practices allows us to hold agency over who we’re becoming. Without intentionality, we simply drift in whatever direction the winds of our world want to take us. We’re choosing to engage in spiritual practices that enable us to be and become the men, women and children God designed us to be.
Spiritual practices are:
“Habits, practices, and experiences that are designed to develop, grow, and strengthen certain qualities of spirit - to build the “muscles” of one’s character and expand the breadth of one’s inner life. They structure the “workouts” which train the soul.”
~ Richard Foster
Every other month, we’ll focus on one spiritual practice intended to shape and form us in God’s image …
Worship
Jan/Feb 2025
So much of what we read and hear in our society is about asserting or demanding rights. “I deserve… I demand…” are mantras of our time. With this attitude, we are attributing great worth to ourselves and demanding others agree. This is self-worship… It leaves the soul feeling empty.
The amazing thing is, God doesn’t totally disagree. He ascribes great worth to every human being. So much so, He was willing to allow His Son to die for us. We couldn’t possibly be valued any more than we already are.
Unlike the way of the world, our true worth is derived from the fact that we are images of God. God’s worth is greater than all others. That doesn’t make us worthless. To the contrary - we don’t say a diamond with imperfections is worthless… it’s just not worth as much as a perfect diamond. Because of God’s immeasurable worth and because He made us in His image, we too have great worth.
The practice of worship is about setting that order right. To worship is to ascribe worth… to declare that God is of great value. Even more… When we worship, we express admiration and adoration toward God. It is an act of reverence set in a posture of submission (the root words describe one’s physical posture as bowing down).
Who or what we worship will shape who we are becoming. As we worship God, we set aside our ways, we put ourselves in the right order and we open the door for God to have His way in our hearts and our lives. It’s not until we worship God that we begin to see our true worth in creation. Join us in January & February as we intentionally practice wholehearted worship together.
“Worship is our response to the overtures
of love from the heart of the Father.”
~ Richard Foster
Practice
Communal - As we worship together on Sundays, intentionally give in to that worship. Push through all the barriers to ascribe worth to God in your heart, mind and body. Make an intentional effort to freely worship with your voice and body. When distracted, simply return your attention to God again - over & over.
Personal - Integrate worship into your times of prayer. As you pray, take time to tell God all the things that you admire about Him. Find a worshipful song that inspires you and play that while you pray… sing it out. Use your body - try kneeling or bowing while you worship. Get creative as well… find ways to express reverence and adoration through prayer, art, dance and more.
If you experience internal barriers to worship on Sundays, bring that to God in prayer. Ask for His help in becoming aware of and overcoming barriers.
Tell your story - don’t forget to tell others how it’s going.