Prayers of Worship

Introduction

For the sake of ease we are going to put together both worship and praise. There is a subtle distinction that is often made between the two. Worship has been defined as the art of losing oneself in the adoration of another. Worship is primarily about who God is while praise is primarily about what God has done. Praise is focused on action, singing, praying, rejoicing in what God has done while worship is more an attitude of the heart. It is being utterly consumed with awe of God.

If I were to ask you, “who is your wife?” what would you say? You might say she is the one who takes care of my kids, she is an athlete, she is a great cook; but those are all about what your wife does not who she is. Who is your wife? She is loving, funny, compassionate, smart. She is passionate about God and serving others. These are all descriptions of who she is not what she does. I guarantee your wife wants to be love for more than just what she does for you. She wants to be love for who she is.

We need both. God deserves to be loved and adored for what He does for us, but also who He is.

The biblical basis of worship in Prayer

For the next few lessons we are going to base our teaching on the Lord’s prayer.

Matthew 6:9–13 “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

When I first began to really focus on prayer, I read some books on prayer that referenced the puritans. The puritans actually recommended praying prayers modeled after or following the pattern of the Lord’s prayer. Now we don’t recite the Lord’s prayer because we don’t want to slip into vain repetition, but Jesus did give us this prayer as a pattern for us to follow. Verse 9 begins with these words After this manner- or you could say following this pattern or in this way. Jesus clearly intended for us to follow a certain pattern in our prayer.

But what is the very first element of prayer in the Lord’s prayer- worship.

Matthew 6:9 “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”

Father- This is a term of address but it highlights a relationship. Notice it isn’t heavenly father, or All Father, but our father. When we go to prayer, we pray on the basis of a relationship with God. Prayer is intended to be communion with Him, relational. But it isn’t just any relationship. It isn’t slave owner though he is our master, it isn’t my servant, it isn’t my homie. The relationship of a Father and a child is a pretty unique relationship. It is one of respect and authority for sure; but it is also one of dearness and closeness. Father perfectly balances the two.

which art in heaven- what is the point of saying which art in heaven? I think this phrase highlights how above his creation God is. He is transcendent, all-powerful. He is far above us and is due our worship and respect.

hallowed be thy name- Holy be your name. God is Holy so how can his name be made holy? Holy means set apart, distinct. God your name is not like any other name. Names in the bible also represent who a person is. God Himself is Holy, good, righteous, pure, ect. This is a focus on who God is.

Prayer starts with God’s name, God’s kingdom and God’s will.- John MacArthur

What holds us back from Worship?

Thinking that worship is about us- Today’s culture has tried to manufacture an experience of worship, but in doing so has fallen short of true worship. For worship to be true worship it cannot be about us. David Petersen in his book Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship wrote:

Is worship, then, essentially an experience or feeling? Is it to be identified with a special sense of the presence of God, or with some kind of religious ecstasy or with expressions of deep humiliation before God? Are there special moments in a Christian meeting when we are truly “worshipping” God? Are church services to be measured by the extent to which they enable the participants to enter into such experiences? Such a subjective approach is often reflected in the comments people make about Christian gatherings, but it has little to do with biblical teaching on the matter.

We have been convinced that worship is about seeking a feeling or an experience of God’s presence. The subtle trap of making that the goal is that it becomes about how I feel and what I get out of it. Worship can exist without a feeling. God’s presence can be real without me having an emotional response to it. So there is a danger in making feelings the goal of worship because they take the place of God Himself.

Feelings also are a dangerous goal of worship because when I don’t feel like worshipping, I don’t. Job in the midst of his trial did not make feelings the goal of worship. Job 1:20–21 “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return thither: The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Feeling oriented worship evaporates when the circumstances of life dry up our hearts.

2. Thinking that worship cannot involve feelings- The other side of the spectrum occurs when we preach and teach that our worship cannot express emotion. This is really an overreaction to emotionalism which is manipulated by music or atmosphere. Divine Affections are a biblical response to the truth about who God is and what he has done.

1 Peter 1:8 “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:” Seeing God through the eyes of faith moves us to joy unspeakable. Joy is not merely an emotion but it is not less than an emotion either.

1 Corinthians 14:24–25 “But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all: And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.” Every time a man was in the presence of God, he fell down on his face before God. We experience conviction and humility in God’s presence.

The trouble here is that we build a wall around our expression of affection toward God because we fear being fanatical. But scripture tells us to Matthew 22:37 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” love God with everything we are: mind, will and emotions.

3. Habit- We all have our habits and this whole series is not intended to undermine habit in and of itself. Rather, I am trying to encourage you to practice biblical habits of grace. The suggestions that I have given about the habits of grace have been derived from the bible and the practical tips have been gleaned from other godly men of the past. Maybe they are unfamiliar to you, but that is because Christianity lost some biblical habits over time and it is time we rediscover what they were. Habit though can become a substitute for true worship. I encourage habit but your walk with God must be habit plus authenticity. We get used to going about our duties of service. The greatest example of this is the story of Mary and Martha.

4. Sin- I will develop this though more in other messages, but we know Psalm 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear me:” Sin hinders prayer and worship.

5. Thinking that worship is only music- This error is very common in Christianity. The music and singing of church is often mistakenly called the worship service. While music can be a powerful part of our worship it is not the only part of worship. 1 Corinthians 10:31 “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Everything we do is to make much of God’s glory, to worship him.

John 4:21–24 “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

6. Busyness- We just don’t have time for worship. You might be saying, “Pastor Jason, I pray every morning and it takes all the time I got just to go through the list of requests I have.” I understand that. Have you considered you don’t have to pray for all the requests every single day, you can break them up. God wants worshippers; so we cannot ignore this practice in our lives.

The Practice of worship in Prayer

Worship first- Notice that this worship comes at the beginning of the prayer. If the Lord’s prayer is truly a model prayer shouldn’t we model our prayers after it. There is wisdom in putting worship here because it aligns our hearts with God Himself. Prayer no longer becomes about us, but about God: His name, His Kingdom and His will.

“Before I would run right to my prayer list and the more I went through all the problems and needs the more anxious and burdened I would get. Now I’ve started spending time thinking about how good and wise he is and how many prayers he’s answered of mind in the past. And when I get to my own needs- now I find I can put them in his hands and I feel the burden coming off me rather than on me.” ~ a lady speaking to Tim Keller

2. Address God by His different names and meditate on what they mean to you in prayer- the first thing in the prayer is addressing God, but notice by the name Father. The prayer goes on to say holy be your name.

3. Talk to God about His character- The phrase which art in heaven reminds us of the transcendence and glory of God.

4. Praise God for what He has done in your life and answered prayer

5. Singing songs about God’s attributes during prayer