Prepare to worship

The “Up!” Devo for October 29

Worship is a big part of what we do as God’s people.

First and foremost, God deserves it. He’s THAT good. No wonder Psalm 96:9 encourages us to worship God “in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him.”

Worship also nourishes us through things like prayer, music and God’s word. Plus, it’s for our own good and clarifies our thinking and priorities!

But have you ever thought about how you PREPARE for worship?

Yes, prepare.

In the 1600’s George Swinnock encouraged Christians to prepare on Saturday night for Sunday worship by praying. “The oven of thine heart thus baked in, as it were, overnight, would be easily heated the next morning…”

Prayerful preparation gets the embers of our hearts ready, as it were, to honour the eternal and living God the next day in worship.

He goes on to say, “If thou wouldst thus leave thy heart with God on the Saturday night, thou shouldst find it with him in the Lord’s Day morning.”*

Ready yourself. Stoke the embers of your heart.

People who prepare tend to be prepared—to worship, to grow, and to burn bright the light of Christ.

Prepare to worship.

By Matthew Ruttan

–“A Motto For A Pandemic.” That’s a post I had the privilege of writing with Richard Topping, Principal at the Vancouver School of Theology. It’s a short, 3-point motto for living in challenging times. You can read it here.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.

–*As quoted in: J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (Wheaton: Crossway, 1990), 257.