Learning To Worship


By Phil Scovell





     Many find it difficult to worship God because they don't know
how.  They don't know how because they've never been taught.  Some
believe, based upon many church services I have attended,
worshipping the Lord is accomplished by raising your hands,
praising the name of the Lord loudly, running up and down the
aisles, shouting amen until the rafters vibrate, waving flags and
banners, pounding on objects which generate a lot of noise,
leaping into the air, dancing, hand clapping, laying on the floor,
foot stomping, yelling hallelujah over and over again until their
tongue snaps off its roller, and generally creating as much
racket as humanly possible.  None of which, by the way, am I
against.  If you study Old Testament worship, you will find many
such things practiced by the Jews so I am in no way belittling
such forms of worship.  Moreover, I've done a great deal of what I
just described.  It is why we do it which causes me to consider
the motives.

     Is the purpose of worship to generate a lot of enthusiasm so
the preacher's sermon sounds better or a lot of hyped emotions so
we can feel God?  Does worship make us a better Christian?  What
if we don't worship like everybody around us or like the person
who is instructing us up at the pulpit?  Are we sinning if we
don't raise our hands?  Is speaking in tongues worship?  If so,
why do some believe it isn't a gift for today even if the Apostle
Peter in Acts Chapter 2 said it was?  With all this in mind,  let
me tell you a true story about how to worship God which likely is
rarely considered to be worship.

     My 75 year old friend, of whom many of you have heard me
speak before, picked me up one night for our traditional, waist
of time, Wednesday night bible study.  I say, waist of time,
because we, in that church, rarely studied the bible.  Oh, the
Bible was preached but it got to a point where it was no longer
taught by the pastor.  This I never understood because the pastor
was a great preacher and he was as good of Bible teacher as I have
ever known.  However, our Wednesday and Sunday night meetings had
decayed into book reading sessions.  He would read to us from some
famous book that was currently popular among mega churches across
the country.  Why we couldn't read these books on our own was a
mystery to me but then, I wasn't the pastor.

     This particular Wednesday evening was starting out just like
all the other boring Wednesday night bible studies, so called.  We
had six to eight people who showed up and we met in the basement
and sat at a long table.  I was dreading the Standard Operating
Procedure I knew was about to begin.  I also knew that the man who
brought me, and with whom I normally rode with Wednesday and
Sunday nights, was discouraged.

     That very week, a friend of the family's son had been run
down by a hit and run driver and killed.  This man, and his wife,
my friends, had lost two sons to similar accidents.  One was
changing the tire on his car along side the highway when he was
struck and killed.  The other son, and his fiance where likewise
struck and killed as they simply crossed the street as they were
on an evening walk together.  So, my friend was feeling the grief
of the death of his own two boys based upon what had just happened
to someone they knew.

     Wishing we didn't have to sit and listen to a book being read
to us, other than the Bible that is, someone made a comment about
an animal.  I can't remember what it was, I think it was about a
pet, but within moments, as the Holy Spirit took over the meeting,
everyone at the table began telling stories, some very miraculous,
about animals.  Some stories were very serious while others were
very funny to hear.  Soon, a general discussion about God's
creation came up and how marvelous God's handiwork was.  These two
basic themes of discussion continued to expand at such a rapid
pace, the pastor never had a chance to crack his most popular book
he had been reading.  Before long, it was 9 o'clock, the time we
normally stopped, and the pastor closed in prayer.  Big deal!

     Walking out of the building, I easily noticed the emotional
change in the elderly man with whom I was riding.  Walking down
the stairs to the sidewalk, he chuckled and said, "Boy, I feel
good.  That was wonderful."  Keep in mind, we hadn't prayed
collectively as we often did, we hadn't read the bible, which we
normally didn't do anyhow, and the pastor didn't even read his
book which we always did.  Yet, this man was refreshed in the Lord
but didn't know why.  I waited till we got into the car to tell
him.

     As I clicked my seat belt in place and my Brother in the Lord
started the engine, he said, "You know Brother Phil?  I wasn't
feeling too well when we came tonight but I sure feel good now."

     I said, "I knew you were feeling poorly due to the death of
your family friend and how you could identify with those feelings
but do you know why you feel good now?"

     "No," he replied as he did a U turn on the side street the
church was on and drove up to the corner and waited for the
traffic before turning left.  "Tell me why?" he asked.

     "Because," I said, "tonight, we worshipped the Lord."

     "We did?" he said; puzzled.

     When I pointed out that all we did tonight was talk about
God's creation, I said, "we were magnifying the Lord.  Soon the
Lord became bigger than our personal problems and that always
makes a person feel better to know that he has such a big God that
can do anything."

     He said, "Well, what do you know.  That's exactly right.  We
did worship the Lord tonight, didn't we?"

     I laughed and said, "We sure did, Brother, and you are right;
it was good."

     If you read the Psalms carefully, and much of the book of
Proverbs, you will notice the focus the authors placed on God by
circling the wagons, sort of speak, around God's creation.  King
David was especially notorious for this.  Read it for yourself if
you doubt the validity of my statement.  How did King David
magnify God in his life?  Just read the 23rd Psalm.

     One reason why I enjoy our African Gray parrot so much is
because he always reminds me of God's creation.  Sure, we have
dogs.  We even have a cat and rabbits and guinea pigs, a couple of
turtles, a frog, and a rat;  a pet rat, I mean.  Most, if not all,
of these pets are domesticated.  Well, as domesticated as a frog
or turtle can be, I mean.  The parrot is, too, of course, but he
still possessed with the wild nature God gave him.  Yes, he bites
hard when I stick my fingers in his cage.  When we let him out to
play on his cage or his fake tree perch, he loves to nibble and
bite my fingers.  He loves walking up my arm, if I lay it down
flat, and crawling up the front of my shirt to stand on my
shoulder.  He likes pulling my hair, what's left of it, nibbling
on my ear, trying to jam his beak down my ear canal, biting my
nose, and picking at anything he thinks looks interesting.  Then I
bend down closer to his cage or perch and he jumps off my
shoulder.  He is still a wild bird and that alone always makes me
think of God and how He is the creator of all things.  So what am
I doing, you may ask, when I am thinking this way?  Yes, that's
right.  I am worshipping my Creator.  No, I am not worshipping the
bird; I'm worshipping the bird's Creator who just so happens to be
my Creator as well.

     I'm even weirder than just that.  I talk to the parrot, his
name is Chester, and I tell him about God and that He, God,
created him and made his nice feathers and his beak so hard that
he is able to crack nuts opened to feed himself.  Now, I know some
are thinking that this bird doesn't know any such thing.  I
believe he does.  I believe he is in touch with the Creator more
than I am so I talk to Chester about it all.  I said I was weird.

     How do you learn to worship God?  The best way is to pray.
How do you pray?  You sit in a chair quietly, or kneel in front of
the couch, the settee if you live in England, and you wait before
the Lord silently.  You push away all the thoughts of the world
when they try to come regardless of what they are.  No, I didn't
say you attempt to empty your mind; that's a form of meditation
which isn't wise for anyone to practice for any reason.  Why?  It
leaves you exposed and unguarded.  Just pushing away worldly
concerns, however, isn't meditation; it is active concentration.
It is mental adjustment which allows for your mind to focus on
more important things.  This takes practice.  The worldly problems
love to crowd our minds with worry and doubt and unbelief and fear
and guilt and shame and frustration and stress, and a lot of other
such things.  No, you don't need to picture the cross in your
mind, or what Jesus may have looked like, or Heaven, or focus on a
burning candle, or anything.  You simply exercise discipline over
the thoughts that are trying to commandeer your mind and emotions.
Then, as the things of the world begin to fade and drift out of
focus, you do one thing and one thing only.  You listen.  For
what?  You listen for God.  If you are born again, I guarantee you
will eventually hear Him.  Oh, maybe not at first because we carry
around a large amount of doubt and unbelief in our thinking and we
feel its effect deep within our emotions.  If you continue doing
what the Bible calls, "Be still and know that I am God," (Psalm
46:10), you will soon begin to, not only worship the Lord in your
mind, but in your spirit where the Holy Spirit dwells.  You will
also begin to hear God.  Maybe not in words or pictures but you
will sense His presence in a way you likely have never experienced
before.  Then what happens?  You will begin to worship Him for who
He is.  Who is He?  He is God; your Creator.

     When I do this, I wait until the things of the world grow dim
in my thoughts.  Based upon circumstances, this might take a
little longer than what feels comfortable.  The more we pray this
way, on the other hand, the quicker the worldly things begin to
drift away from the forefront of our minds.

     At this point, I often begin to just randomly think of God's
creation.  Think about His eternality and how He has always been
and always will be.  Consider the creation of the universe which
is without end or containment.  He created the universe as a
reflection of His nature.  Eventually, as you attempt to get your
thoughts around these humanly impossible things, you will settle
on Jesus and who He is and why He wants to be in your life.  Why
will you defer to Jesus instead of God?  Because, you, nor anyone,
can comprehend God.  Jesus, who is God, became a man for 33 years
so He could identify Himself with us as His creation.  Now we can
identify with Him because He became like us to make that possible.
Now do you understand why Jesus came to earth?  He came for you
because He wants to get to know you in a very personally intimate
way which words cannot describe.

     I still find Christians uncomfortable with this type of
prayer and worship.  In my life, I have read dozens of books on
meditation.  What I am describing as prayer is nothing like
eastern meditation techniques.  I know I am repeating myself but
that isn't prayer and it isn't worship so don't do it.  If you
have trouble with this, go back and read the Psalms, especially
those of King David, and you'll see exactly how David focused on
God, His nature, and his creation.

     There is one other way of achieving this form of intimacy in
prayer.  It is called, singing.  It is quite simple and the New
Testament is in no way silent on this subject of worship through
singing hymns and songs and spiritual songs.  Singing, by its very
nature, causes the world to fade and our minds and emotions to
focus on the Lord.  Instant worship!

     I want to tell you about one of the bravest men in the Bible.
His name is Elijah.  I say, his name is, because, Elijah never
physically died.  He was miraculously and spectacularly carried
into Heaven by God and there was an eye witness to confirm it.

     Long before this miraculous home going, Elijah experienced
some amazing things through the power of God.  But, since he was
only human, he also became fearful and scared and frustrated from
the stressful activities of the ministry.  It gets worse when the
wife of the King puts out a contract on you to have you killed.
So, Elijah did the only thing he could think to do.  He ran for
his life.

     during his flight, he ended up in a cave.  God did something
quite humorous.  He asked Elijah a question.  "What are you doing
here, Elijah," God wanted to know.  Well, Elijah hawked up this
bilge, which is another way of saying he coughed up this
theological garbage, about how he was the only person left serving
the Lord (he didn't know about the other 7,000 people the Lord
already had working for Him at the time) and that, dad gum it, the
queen was trying to have him killed.  God told him to go out and
stand on the mountain.

     Something mighty unusual happened as Elijah made his way out
of the cave.  God passed by, the Bible says, and the wind that was
generated was so powerful bolders split in half.  Now, I've been
through Wyoming many times but I have never witnessed a wind so
powerful and so strong that it could split big rocks in half.
Yet, the Bible says, God was not in the wind.  Odd, you might say.

     After this big God generated wind storm, there was a massive
earthquake that rattled Elijah false teeth.  Again, the Bible
says, God was not in the earthquake.

     Finally, there was a fire.  Now, stop and think about this.
Elijah is hiding out high up in the mountains where not much is
growing.  Yet, we are told there was a fire.  Were the rocks on
fire or what?  It kind of makes you think that way.  Still, the
Bible says, God was not in the fire.

     Then, the Bible does say, God spoke to Elijah in that same
small still voice and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
You can read about this in First Kings chapter 19 if you doubt my
interpretation.

     So what do you suppose Elijah learned about worshipping God.
Being on the mountain isn't what's important.  Hearing God's voice
is.  In fact, it is all that is important.


Phil C Sharp
The Coil Of The snake
A Free Online E-Novel
www.SafePlaceFellowship.com