Worship 24/7
by Carol Blain

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters…to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1

When I was a child, worship meant packing up the six of us for a 20-minute drive to church – sometimes in my dad’s VW beetle where one of us kids had to sit in the luggage compartment behind the back seat!  Once there, we went first to Sunday School and then sat through a boring service.  Often times, my mom had to sit between a brother and me – or in later years, between my dad and me! – because we would “cut up” during the service.  (I guess some things never change, except these days my mom isn’t here to provide the barrier!)  In those days, Worship was not something I looked forward to, nor did it hold much meaning for me, except that it was the “right thing” to do on a Sunday morning.  Worship came to mean different things over time – liturgy, hymns, sermon, choir, offering, and communion.  Worship was something for Sunday mornings.  Although I knew I needed to bring Christ into my everyday life, I didn’t give much thought to “worship” except on Sundays.  Over the last several years, my definition of worship has changed greatly.  I have found that personal daily worship is essential to my life in Christ.  Paul talks about it in his letter to the Romans in the passage quoted above, and Eugene Peterson, in The Message puts it this way, “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take our everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.” Rom. 12:1.  I have found that I need to take time everyday, to concentrate on God, to acknowledge the gifts He has given and continues to give, and to give Him praise and thanksgiving. I have learned to use the “dead time” in my day - when my mind is not really needed for the task at hand -- and using that as prayer time.  I find myself taking the time to ask myself that familiar question, “What would Jesus do in this situation, how would He handle this, and what can I do in this situation to honor Him?”

Lent offers a great opportunity to get in the habit of daily worship.  Many of us are in the practice of “fasting” from something during Lent.  We may not think of this as worship initially, but done in the right frame of heart it really is!  As we meditate on Christ’s suffering for us, we can use this time to do some suffering as well, and be reminded to pray as we give up some of the things we usually enjoy.  On the other hand, we may be encouraged to ADD something to our Lenten discipline, instead of fasting.  Perhaps this is a time when you might add some daily Bible reading, scripture memorizing, daily prayer, or even a daily time of praise and worship to your everyday routine.  As you do this, you will be blessed and find the joy in placing your “everyday, ordinary life…before God as an offering.”  You will find that a lifestyle of worship will not only please God, but that your heart with be filled with joy and hope, and you will be more aware of God’s presence in all aspects of your life!

Lord, help me to offer myself in worship to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so that I will be open to hearing your voice more and more as I spend more and more time living for you in all I do.  Mold my heart, so that my desire will be for you alone.  In Jesus’ Name, AMEN.