As I was reading through Isaiah this morning, Isaiah 29:13-14 jumped right off the page and struck me right in the heart. "And so the Lord says, 'These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but manmade rules learned by rote. Because of this, I will once again astound these hypocrites with amazing wonders. The wisdom of the wise will pass away, and the intelligence of the intelligent will disappear.'"
Wow, did that speak to me about today. These last several years as churches have "warred" over worship and worship leaders have gone to seminars, conferences, and workshops trying to find out the "rules" of worship, I am afraid we have many times missed a very simple point that is expressed beautifully in the above passage. Erwin Lutzer says, "Worship isn't listening to a sermon, appreciating the harmony of the choir, and joining in singing hymns! It isn't even prayer, for prayer can be the selfish expression of an unbroken spirit. Worship goes deeper. Since God is Spirit, we fellowship with Him with our spirit; that is, the immortal and invisible part of us meets with God, who is immortal and invisible."
John Bunyan once stated, "In prayer it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart." I am afraid many times we speak and sing words of worship with our mouths, but keep our hearts at a distance from His holy presence. We can act out the proper church roles, speak pious words, even shed superficial tears without submitting our wills, our thoughts, and our actions to His scrutiny. Is our religion sometimes on display when our spiritual condition is a disgrace? May our words of worship flow from a heart hungry for Him, connected with Him and overflowing with the glory and presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! mjm
