Prepping for Worship

Hey there! 

Here's a question: How do you prep for worship on a Sunday?

What about

1. Rehearse songs so everyone is comfortably confident with them
   
2. Tune your guitar!
   
3. Warm up your voice!
   
4. Sound check
   
5. Check with the pastor or service leader that you both know what the other is up to.
   

Obviously those things are all important. But what about what's on the inside? How do you prepare the heart for worship?

Here's my 'Puritan plug' again. These guys were amazing at stripping their faith back to the bare bones and working hard at the simple things - like praying, reading the Bible, and living for God's glory. George Swinnock (1627 - November 10, 1673), was a minister who was ejected from his pulpit for preaching the gospel.  He was one of many who saw the value of spending Saturday night in prayer, Bible reading and examining oneself, and meditating on God's Word in order to prepare the heart for worship the following day. Consider this quote:

"The oven of thine heart thus baked in, as it were, overnight, would be easily heated the next morning; the fire so well raked up when thou wentest to bed, would be sooner kindled when thou shouldst rise. If thou wouldst leave thy heart with God on the Saturday night, thou shouldst find it with him in the Lord's Day morning."

Remember those things I mentioned earlier? How quickly can those things occupy our attention before a church service? When we meet together as a body of believers to hear our God speak and to respond to him, how can we do that if our minds are elsewhere, or only hanging onto the immediate by a thread, ready to be snatched away when some other pressing thought pops up?

I know for myself, that Saturday night is often spent chilling out, or having a good time with friends, then going to bed late. Then I get up early (begrudgingly, because I'm tired), hop into the car and get annoyed with other road users, then stress about the things that need to happen for the church service to run smoothly. I often haven't prayed, or read my Bible, or even stopped to just take stock of why I'm there and what I'm doing.

Just imagine the difference between a church gathering where everyone arrives as I often do, and one where everyone has spent time out with God preparing their hearts for meeting with God's people and responding to His Word. I'm sure the difference would be remarkable, to God's glory.

Why not try this: this Saturday night, ensure that everything that needs to get done is done, then take some time out to sit quietly on your own. Pray to God, thanking him for his blessings, confessing your sins, asking for his help and guidance. Read your Bible, perhaps even the passage that is going to be preached on the next day if you know what it is. Spend some time reflecting on what the passage tells you about God, about Christ and about yourself and others. Reflect on your own life, identifying areas that need God to work on, and recognising your dependence upon God. Pray again, for the gathering the next day, for those who will hear the word, for your interaction with them, and for your response to the Word. If you have someone to talk to, perhaps talk about what you have read and prayed over and what you have examined in your life. 

This is perhaps obeying Jesus' command in Matthew 22v37:

³⁷And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

How can we love God with our whole being unless we work at it? And how can we worship God if our mind or heart or soul are elsewhere on a Sunday?