Have you ever wondered if we should expect God to transform lives in our worship services?
Last weekend I was at a conference for a couple of days, and got to share the experience with a few “ministry” mates. We were reflecting on the opening words of the Lord’s Prayer… “Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” We were all in awe of our ability and the privilege we have to just pray those words as God’s children, and come into His presence. We considered and shared about whether such access to God, such worship of our Father should always be transformational.
In other words, can someone truly worship God and remain unchanged? Can one truly engage in an intimate conversation of worship and prayer ( is there a difference??) and not come away a different person, with a renewed purpose, and elevated perspective of God’s character and nature?
And… as leaders of God’s people in worship, should we expect that, look for that, plan for that… or simply do what we do with little real expectation of God moving on people’s lives?
Lot’s of questions !
Our conversation seemed to naturally drift to examples of God’s people whose desire for God led them to worship and changed purposes. Consider…
- Moses… who wanted a deeper personal knowledge of God – indeed to see God Himself (Exodus 33:18-23)… and was physically changed … his face shone and he had to cover it! If you want to engage like this (and I hope you do), Jesus Culture’s song “Show Me Your Glory” reflects this desire.
- Isaiah… was worshipping in the temple and experienced a vision of the hem of God’s robe (Isaiah 6). His response to God was all encompassing: “Send me!! Pick me!!”
- While the leadership of the early church prayed, fasted and worshipped, The Holy Spirit spoke, and they sent out Paul and Barnabas – two of their best – into mission work. (Acts 13)
It appears that worship (in all it’s various expressions) transforms!
What does that mean for us who lead others in worship? Here are a few thoughts.
- Have an expectation that God will speak to each person each week. Otherwise, why turn up at all!? An expectant heart will encourage and cause us to wait on God and be attuned to His voice. Expectation will enrich our prayers.
- Leave room for God to speak as we worship. Worship is about listening as well. You may wish to guide people in prayer, highlight a word or phrase from what you’ve just sung; use Scripture, or just be silent in God’s presence and let His Spirit do the work in people’s lives. Be intentional and flexible.
- Encourage people to engage with God and to listen for His voice in the variety of expressions unique to each person. God can use and will use all sorts of ways to get our attention. Encourage people to be open to His Spirit.
- WARNING! Don’t manipulate, and don’t be upset if you don’t see some extraordinary manifestation of God. God is at work, and His promise is that His word will not return without accomplishing it’s purpose. You may not see it, but God is far more interested in transforming the lives of His people than you and I can ever be. So trust Him and cooperate with what the Spirit is doing.
I have personally been hugely transformed by worship. Every week, something in me is transformed as I move towards Christlikeness.
There are many more things that we can do to partner with the Holy Spirit in worship.
Please leave a comment right now below. Share what other things you have found helpful.
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Hey John, I can only say “Amen!” as I read your comments about transformational worship. You highlighted some really helpful insights. How can we meet with the living God in any context and remain unchanged?
As believers in and followers of Jesus Christ, our lives are wholly “in Christ” and so worship in all its various forms and contexts is part of God’s expression of his son in and through our lives. God’s promise is to make us more like Jesus through the course of our lives. This is what discipleship is all about. Worship, at least in part, is one of God’s gifts to us to mold and shape our lives into the likeness of Jesus.
I often ask myself and others I lead, “Am I more like Jesus because of this experience?” This is especially true of gathered expressions of the body of Christ such as a “church” service. Other questions I find helpful to ask after meeting together to worship are: Has my heart softened? Am I more inclined to love others? Do I still harbor bitterness against someone? Am I more open to obey the Lord’s commands?
All this is to say, true worship must transform our lives. I find it sort of funny to hear stories of people who meet celebrities or famous people and the brief meeting has changed their life. We get to worship God – the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, and somehow manage to remain the same as before. Have we lost something about our understanding of and engagement in worship? More significantly and perhaps more disturbing, have we missed the very reason we worship? Have we missed the ONE that our worship is for?
Thanks Neil. Brilliant stuff – totally agree. Thanks for your valuable contribution to the conversation. I hope many will read your comments and grow with us. John