Just finished the book How to Worship Jesus Christ by Joseph S. Carroll. The book was challenging and encouraging. It outlines the core of how we are to pray, worshiping God, not asking or coming for our own selfish desires but our hearts are attune to worship the King of King!
A great paragraph from the book
Now, in our modern day we are apt to have an unholy familiarity with God, an attitude we will never have if we have an understanding of the book of Revelation. To some He is simply a person who exists in order that He might save people on their terms and help them live the life they want to live; and when they are in trouble, He will help them out. This concept of God is not the God of the Bible. He is the great God of the universe who gave His Son to be a propitiation of our sin, not that we might live a life that pleases us but that we might live a life that pleases Him. This great One upon the throne with this vast sea before Him, He is the God of Glory.Carroll states that in order to rightly worship God we must surrender the intellect first (p. 50), then affections and emotions, and finally our will. This is within the chapter on a true heart, which he defines as a heart that is broken, broken from self, and offered up to God.
Great quote from C.S. Lewis, "It is in the process of being worshiped that God communicates His presence to men."
He challenges his readers that their quiet time should not be that we simply read or prayed through a prayer list, although those are not bad things. Our quiet time should be in a place where we are alone and we worship God, commune with Him.
What did this do for my quiet time? It absolutely revolutionized it. Instead of looking at my watch and saying, "I have ten minutes to get through my prayer list," I simply knelt down and quietly meditated upon the fact that I was in the presence of the Lamb of God and worshiped Him. My quiet time then became something for Him, not something for me; and with the worship of my heart - the pouring out of my heart to Him in worship - came overpowering awareness of His presence.Love this Oswald Chambers quote, "Worshiping God is the great essential of fitness. If you have not been worshiping... when you get into work you will not only be useless yourself, but a tremendous hindrance to those who are associated with you."
Carroll's challenge that everything start with worship did not fall on deaf ears. This book has personally challenged me to worship God as a priority and spend time in his presence. Unfortunately we spend far to little time in this place. We allow distractions and cares of this world to hinder our worship. We must have two things to worship God: 1) Whole heart 2) Clean Hands. Whole heart, nothing else. Nothing held back. No reserves, complete surrender. Clean Hands, no un-confessed sin. Un-confessed sin hinders fellowship.
Finally, six hinderences to worship:
- Unsurrendered Heart (Luke 9:25)
- Unconfessed Sin
- Wrong Attitude - mostly toward another
- Enemy Opposition - when distracted by Satan, refute in the name of Jesus (James 4:7)
- Physical Tiredness - get enough rest to be effective
- Unbelief - when you prepare yourself for worship faith is foremost
In conclusion, I highly recommend this book. I give it a 5 out of 5. This is a necessity to any believer's library. Thank-you God for men who pursue You and write about their experiences and insights. Amen.
