I once heard speaker Priscilla Shirer use this phrase in an interview: Eat before you go.
This phrase wasn’t new to me – I know that when you’re going to an event (think wedding, party, or family holiday) you should eat something first because you don’t know when you’ll eat, if you’ll want to to eat, if you’ll be able to eat. (I attended a one-day retreat where lunch was served later in the day, but there wasn’t enough food and I was allergic to what was left. I went to plan B – cookies for lunch – but there weren’t many of them left once I got through the line. Yes, this circumstance still haunts me years later.)
But Priscilla wasn’t talking about going to an event. She was talking about going to church.
We can’t rely on our church gathering as our only source of Spiritual nourishment.
It’s not enough to get us through the day, let alone through the week.
And. . . this is the part that hits me. . . we can’t assume we’ll be fed in a corporate service.
I certainly don’t always walk out of Sunday service feeling “full”. Oftentimes it’s me – my attitude, my lack of sleep, my annoyance at something random (usually connected to my lack of sleep). Sometimes it’s the service itself. And this is coming from me as a worship leader: not every service will be that uplifting, encouraging experience we all crave. It just won’t.
So eat before you go.
Let corporate worship be a continuation of your personal worship, because we are supposed to gather (read my recent post about this here).
Read, listen, and sing throughout the week. I love sitting at my piano on Sunday morning before church and singing loud and proud (which often makes me late for church service, but my heart’s in a better state, so I’ve decided it’s worth it).
We see this modeled in Scripture.
Jesus worships alone through prayer before gathering: “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed” (Mark 1:35 ESV).
He also worships alone through prayer after gathering: “And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,” (Matthew 14:23 ESV).
In Psalm 34:1 David writes, “”I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (not only when gathered)
And in verse 3: “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!” (Our continual praise contributes to our corporate praise)
Paul writes, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12 ESV). Constant in prayer, meaning all week.
Being fed throughout the week through praise, thanksgiving, and prayer means that you’re not relying on other people to give you a worshipful experience on during corporate worship. It also means that you enter into corporate worship ready to receive, but also to encourage others through your worship (Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV).
Pause
Reflect
Are you worshipping through the week? How? What’s a different way you’re going to try this week?
Read
Worship by reading (and praying!) the Psalms.
Listen
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