OUR HEART BEFORE GOD
A heart surrendered
According to the pattern of the Scriptures, this is the fundamental essence of worship: I humble my heart before the Almighty God and I recognize the supremacy of his lordship over my life. The divine essence of worship is recognized through the total surrender of the worshiper to the One who deserves worship. Only when we choose to recognize God in all our ways (Proverbs 3: 6), and we give Him control over our lives and destinies can we be the true worshipers of God.
In the Old Testament we have the patriarch Abraham, who is one of the most dramatic examples of what a true worshiper is with a heart surrendered to God. We also have Jacob. How did Job respond when he received the news that all his livestock, his servants, his sons and daughters had perished on the same day?
The apostle Paul admonished the New Testament Christians to "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your rational worship" (Romans 12: 1). He understood that a life of surrender is the highest act of worship. While we consecrate our lives to God, they become a living sacrifice placed on the altar of surrender. Beyond being something extreme, a call for a few, the Bible calls this total surrender to God as our "rational worship."
A still heart
Our deepest adoration can be expressed, sometimes, in a silent weeping. Worship is not always constituted in the expression of words or phrases addressed to God. But it will always include prostrating our praises in humiliation before God while we venerate his greatness in silence and stillness. The heart of the worshiper longs to contemplate his beloved and to feel the satisfaction that is received when that gaze is returned.
A willing heart
The heart of a worshiper understands that the time to worship is always the present. Worship can not be postponed for a more convenient time, a time where once again life is easier than the present. It does not matter that we have worshiped in the past, even if it was only the day before. Worshipers can not be satisfied with worshiping in the past. Nor can they wait for the day when we all worship around the throne of God. They understand what Jesus meant when he said, ¨
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; because also the Father such worshipers seek to worship Him ¨ (John 4:23). Adoration is always in the present tense.
The psalmist declares, "Blessed is the people who know clearly; he will walk, O LORD, in the light of your face.
In your name he will rejoice all the day, and in your righteousness he will be exalted "(Ps 89: 15-16). The true worshipers know how to acclaim, and they live in the presence of God and walk in his light. Learning to be confusedly given to Christ brings new dimensions of worship and revelation from God. No wonder they are blessed!
A heart that learns
As in human relationships, we learn to express our love to each other so in worship we must learn to express our love for God. Worship is not a special gift given to a select group of people, nor is it the talent with which we were born. Worship is the art of learning to express our love for God. We should not be impatient with ourselves if we can not worship as we would like. Learning what is the fullness of worship is a long process and does not come easily. The lessons that God brings to our lives to teach us about adoration.
Responding positively in difficult circumstances, when we choose to worship rather than complain about our situation, will cause us to grow as worshipers. God will delight with his children who want to be worshipers. Jesus said that He was looking for such worshipers (John 4:23). Nothing pleases him more than the quality of life shown by a worshiper - one who, instead of complaining, honors God in the midst of the greatest difficulties.
An expressive heart
The kisses of Mary were also a characteristic of adoration. One of the `Greek words for worship -proskuneo- comes from two words (pros, which means" to "and kuneo, which means" to kiss "), and means" to bow; act of reverence or homage, whether done to man or to God. " Those men condemned Mary for her expression of adoration, but not Jesus. He accepted his adoration and forgive his sins. He looked at her heart and released her from the bonds of pagan culture, what a beautiful security we have knowing that when we worship, God will answer us! He will answer us, because He is willing to do it. Even when people can misinterpret and criticize our worship, God will please our hearts' cries.
The expressiveness of King David, when accompanying the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, caused shame on his wife Michal. He danced in the streets dressed in a linen ephod like any ordinary man. She despised him because he had stripped off his royal clothes and accused him of being a man without decorum before the people. Due to Michal's criticism of her husband, a true worshiper, she was barren for the rest of her days (2S 6:16 - 23). We need to be very careful when we criticize the people of God who are learning to worship. Even if the expressions seem strange to us or are not to our liking, God is looking at their hearts and accepting them for the sincerity of their acts of worship.
A mature heart
As we grow in our relationship with God, our desire and our ability to worship will grow. Spiritual maturity does not exempt us from being a worshiper; It enables us to worship better and teach others to worship. When John, in his book of Revelation, looked in heaven, he saw the twenty-four elders prostrate before the Lamb. These had all "harps, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints," and were in adoration before the throne (Revelation 5: 8-9). We will never surpass our need to worship. In fact, greater responsibility falls on those more mature to maintain a relationship with God in worship and help others to have it.
We were created to worship. God created us with the desire that we have a true relationship with Him that invites adoration. If we do not cultivate a clean heart of sin, surrendered to God and full of adoration to our Lord, we will never experience the fulfillment of what God has for us. Surrendering to his lordship in every area of our lives frees us to higher levels of worship and brings a new revelation of God to our hearts. With each new revelation, we feel more satisfied and walk more fully towards the divine destiny for which we were created. The priority of worshiping God with purpose will be the dynamic of our lives that brings true fulfillment.
Worship is not always constituted in the expression of words or phrases addressed to God. But it will always include prostrating our praises in humiliation before God while we venerate his greatness in silence and stillness
I think you have really dealt with the topic extensively. Great work
Beautiful Sister Publication! We must all pay attention to our heart, involve it in every act of worship to GOD. Good pictures, God bless you.
Let us purify our hearts if we really want to worship the triune God in spirit and in truth. Our God is holy; He is altogether “Other,” a God who cannot share us with other objects of our affection. Indeed, a God who WILL not share us, for the sake of His holiness. We were made to be creatures who worship, but the Fall has crippled and ruined us. Worship is the most natural thing for man, but until we are restored to God through the sacrifice of His dear Son, then all our worship is but a vain thing. It is as “strange fire” before the altar (Leviticus 10:1).
Give us a chance to cleanse our hearts in the event that we truly need to adore the triune God in soul and in truth. Our God is blessed; He is out and out "Other," a God who can't impart us to different objects of our fondness. Without a doubt, a God who WILL not share us, for His blessedness. We were made to be animals who adore, yet the Fall has disabled and destroyed us. Love is the most common thing for man, however until the point when we are reestablished to God through the forfeit of His dear Son, at that point all our love is nevertheless a vain thing. It is as "unusual fire" before the sacrificial stone (Leviticus 10:1).Worship isn't generally constituted in the declaration of words or expressions routed to God. Yet, it will dependably incorporate prostrating our gestures of recognition in mortification before God while we adore his enormity peacefully and stillness
Great apostolic publication
A willing and given heart to worship God. The worshiper's disposition is focused from the bottom of his heart. Such was the psalmist David. Blessings Apostle.