I love music. I love to sing and dance to music. You can catch me getting my jive on in the car, in my living room, and on Sunday mornings. My heart is moved by music, and I love to worship. I love giving my heart to the Lord through the power of song and lyrics. Worship is powerful.
Worship is something we do together as Christians on Sunday mornings. But how can we worship all week long? I have some thoughts here about how to worship – and give your heart to the Lord – all week long.
- Memorize some lyrics. Memorizing comes easy for some people. Not for me. But I have found music helps a lot (I just wish my science classes had been set to music!). If you take the time to memorize songs, or part of songs, they will come back more readily in the realities of life. I once had an older, strong Christian tell me that when he lost his parents he sat crying, but kept singing the words of “It Is Well with My Soul” to himself.
- Buy a CD. We don’t have to choose churches based on music – we can buy the exact style of worship music we like (and let church be about connecting and living out God’s mission in community). I still like buying music (mp3’s), but if you are into streaming, there are lots of good channels as well. As you listen to music throughout the week, you will be amazed at how your attention is focused on Christ, and how much more encouraged you are.
- Pray constantly. It is easy to not think about God until Sunday, or bedtime, or when something goes wrong. God is inviting us into a 24 hour relationship, where we can talk to Him all the time. Prayer is worship, too. As we spend more time aware of His presence, we have more peace.
- Write down lyrics or a Bible verse. Every time you see the verse or lyrics, it can remind you of the song, or to pray, or to live out the verse. You can often find lyrics and verses with great backgrounds online. Or if you are crafty, you can make your own. Then put them in spots you are sure to see. This helps remind you about Jesus – because He is the best!
- Live for His peace. Worship is not just singing – it is everything we do to glorify the Lord. Obedience brings Him glory. Sharing our faith brings Him praise. Simple acts of kindness point people to Christ. As we live for His peace, and work for truth and justice, we are living out true worship that resonates with the prophets (and Jesus).
Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and I abide in you, you will bear much fruit.” Let your life be rooted in Him, and dig your roots down deeper every week.
What about you? What will you do to worship all week? What tips do you have to worship all week?
One thing I do, to help me focus on worship, is I use the name of Jesus in most of my passwords for websites, files, etc (with a few extra characters too) This way, each time I logon or open a file (which is usually about a dozen times a day) I am writing the name of Jesus and when not rushed, I say a quick prayer, or accolade of the Lord …