We are created to worship God. In fact, we will be worshipping God long after everything else ceases to exist. God doesn’t need us to worship Him. He isn’t pining away for compliments. He isn’t seeking an ego boost. He is perfect and complete. He is holy, righteous, good, gracious, loving and merciful. All praise and glory belong to Him simply because of who He is. “God is passionate about worship because He’s passionate about His glory.” (p.32) Yet, He does desire and delight in our worship and gives us a holy invitation to enjoy Him. He invites us into His presence. To know Him intimately. As we savour and delight in God’s presence we experience the truth of His character. He is not a magical being that we need to call into existence. We don’t have to beg God to come down from heaven. He is already here. He is present. When we worship Him, “It’s never a question of how present God seems to us, but how present we are to God.” (p. 36) As we encounter Him, as we familiarize ourselves with who God is and take time to behold His glory, we are transformed. Our sense of awareness of Him grows. Our understanding of Him deepens. As we respond to His invitation, He further calls us to act and respond in accordance with His character.
In response, my prayer for both myself and our church family: “God, teach us how to worship You. Teach us how to best respond to this holy invitation. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear You. Grow in us a longing to delight in You. Deepen our understanding of who You are. As we learn more about Your goodness and Your will, teach us about our church family and how you desire to transform us. In all things, the glory is Yours. Amen.”
