Worship.
When you see or hear the word "worship", what comes to mind for you? Maybe you envision yourself standing at church, hands lifted high, singing praises to Jesus. Or, maybe you think about your quiet time in the morning, sipping warm coffee, talking with God before the kids wake up.
But have you ever considered praying for others, those you love, and maybe those you aren't too fond of, as worship? Yes, you read right, praying for ALL people is a form of worship in God's eyes.
Consider the following passage from two different translations:
Passage 1:
"I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth." ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NIV)
Passage 2:
"I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth." ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NLT)
You'll notice that the very first sentence in both translations begin with "I urge you". There is urgency in what is about to be presented here. And so I think the writer of Timothy is asking for our ear, for us to pay close attention and apply what he is about to say here with special care.
He then goes on to say, "first of all". First! Not second, not in the future when we think of it or have time. Not when we find time to brush our pride aside to do this. But we must do this first, and with urgency.
We are to first, pray for others. Pray for ALL people. Pray for your spouse, your children, your in-laws, your nosey neighbors, difficult co-workers, the micro-managing boss, the cashier at the grocery store that was having a bad day, the homeless man on the side of the road, the pregnant teen, the friend that stole money from you, the cheating spouse. Do you see where I'm going with this? It's not just those we are comfortable with, or those we love and not those that "don't deserve it". Everyone deserves God's grace. And what he says in the passage is that we are to "give thanks for them". We are to pray on their behalf. Because why? Because this is good and it pleases God. He desires for everyone to be saved and to know Him, and one way of shining His light is by praying for others, and God does the rest.
How awesome, and hard all at the same time, is that? I know this can be super hard. I dealt with this for many years with someone who had hurt me and my family. Causing grief and pain physically, spiritually, financially, you name it, we had experienced pain because of this one person.
I remember questioning God. Why would YOU let this happen? Why did you let this person come into our lives just to rip so much away from us? Why, why, why? But when God softened my heart and taught me the valuable lesson of, "you know what? I created that person too, and that person is a child of mine." When I finally came around to understanding that this individual was no better or worse than I was, everything changed for me. I was able to forgive and my prayers turned from "Why?" to "Thank you, God, for this person." And the more that became my 'mantra' of sorts, the more I started to believe it more and more.
Now, I'm not a saint by any stretch of the imagination. Thoughts still creep into my mind. Grief and anger still can be an emotion for me. But when I come back to this realization, it changes everything.
And so, I try hard to instill this kind of worship in my life. It seems strange at times, because society tells me, "Nope! That person has done you wrong, why in the world would you be thankful for him or her?" But I urge you, and the Bible urges you, to give thanks for all! To make that your mantra, your worship, in the good and the bad.
This week's journal prompt:
Outside of family and friends (thinking a little deeper and thinking about this week's passage), who can I give thanks for?
Take some time this week to reflect on this week's passage (1 Timothy 2:1-4). What did God say to you and how do you plan to respond? Who can you give thanks for, even though your mind is telling you not to?
A few ideas to help you think through this week's journaling prompt:
1. Look up the definition of the word "worship". Write the definition down, then spend some time reflecting on what worship means to you, personally.
2. Dedicate a space for daily worship. Find a space in your home where you can spend alone time with God each day in worship. After creating that space, journal about the space itself. Why that spot? What about this space offers you the opportunity to worship God intimately?
3. Instill a thankfulness mantra in your day. Just a simple "Thank you for [Name]" or "I am Thankful" can rewire your thought process around different people and different situations. When you instill a short mantra in your day, notice how things start to change. Journal about this. How does this short but powerful prayer help you during the day? How do you feel God moving in your day?
Let's get you moving:
For this week, I will be sharing a 5 minute flow in my private Facebook group. I would love for you to join me! Simply visit the link here, join the group, and you will find the flow posted this week.
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