Tozer’s devotional for today puts an emphasis on worship.
He says, “Christian work must ever be subordinate to Christian worship, and our
service must be under the control and inspiration of our deeper life and
fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Just prior to reading this, I was reading the Lord’s
instruction concerning prayer. In teaching His disciples to pray, He puts
worship first as well . . .
“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’” (Matthew 6:9–13)
The prayers of David and Solomon come to mind, reminding
me of how they began with giving glory to God, with worship. Sometimes they didn’t
ask for anything. They just wanted to express worship.
I think of my own prayers. So often they are like a
‘shopping list’ with a great deal of requests that God will do this, fix that,
take care of this, help me with a problem and so on. In my thinking, I might
excuse myself by saying that asking is worship because I’m relying on God, but
that is a lame excuse.
Tozer makes it simple. He says, “Fellowship with God leads straight to obedience and good works. That
is the divine order, and it can never be reversed.” If I forget or neglect
to worship, it changes the way I pray. Instead of a heartfelt confidence in the
One that I praise, I’m focused on wants and needs — mine and my perspective and
often not connected to His will.
Worship connects me to who God is, to His great love and
power. When I praise Him, I’ve something on which to base my requests,
something solid to motivate my prayers.
If worship is difficult, He provides some suggestions.
This psalm is a great beginning for a time of prayer:
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100:1–5)
^^^^^^^^^
Jesus, just yesterday I asked You to help me with my
lagging prayer life. Today You show me that the problem is focus. Instead of
coming to You with my mind on the needs of myself and the world around me, I
must come to You with recognition of Your power and goodness, with praise for
who You are and what You have done and can do. Forgive me for putting my focus
on needs instead of on Your great grace and love. Thank You for listening and
answering my request for help. May I now listen and answer this call to praise
and worship!
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