Hungry for Worship

Our faces, then, are not covered. We all show the Lord's glory, and we are being changed to be like Him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18

We all are on the same journey, searching for our purpose and wondering what it is we are to accomplish in life. We were created with a purpose and it is easy to find that purpose if we just ask God to "direct my steps" each day and to "show me Your ways for my life". In order for God to show us what He has for us, we have to be willing to give Him our time and be willing to hear what He has planned.

Some of us are looking for a certain kind of worship experience where we can walk away saying it was "good". We exit the same way we entered, unchanged by what we heard or could have experienced. Expectations are not set high and so we sit and expect no surprises. Most are content with just good. Jesus promised, "Seek and you will find". If good is all that we seek then that is all we will find.

However, there are the few that are longing for so much more. They enter into His presence with the zeal of a child eager to hear what God will speak to them on that day. They leave with the wide-eyed awe of just being in the presence of their heavenly Father.

Now, here is the question, which of these describe you? Do you prepare yourself each Sunday Morning for worship or for your daily quiet time? What path do you take to prepare your heart and mind for what God is going to reveal to you that day? My hunch is that most of us merely wake up and just show up because we are relatively laid-back when it comes to meeting with God. It is extremely sad and many blessings will be missed because of our lack of preparation. Jesus prepared Himself before meeting with His Father and so why do we not do the same?

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

 Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."

 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

Matthew 17:1-5

You see, Jesus did not just get up one day and head to a mountain. Instead, His ministry was delayed for that time. He thought about who would travel with Him, how He would get there and exactly which mountain He would be visiting. Once He finally reached the mountain top, His heart was ready for worship and He "shone like the sun" from being in the presence of God and His Father was "well pleased".

It leads you to think about scenarios like this in our own life. I feel certain that if we knew that the President would be coming for a visit; there would be much to do to get prepared for his arrival. We women would probably be picking out a nice outfit for ourselves and our kids, making sure we all looked polished and pretty. We would probably even put together a list of things that we would want to ask. We would be prepared. Should we be any less prepared when it comes to meeting with God each day?

We should aspire to be like Jesus in all that we do and especially when it comes to meeting Him for a time of worship in which He is going to reveal to us what He has for our life. We should come prayed up and alert. We should have spent time in the Word so that our hearts are soft and open to what we will hear. When we come to worship, we should come hungry and expecting God to speak. We should come asking to see the One we came to worship.

The best part of all is that when we come prepared, we will discover the true purpose of worship. Our faces and our hearts will be changed and we will leave just as Jesus did and in that we will have brought honor and glory to God.

"His face became bright like the sun." Matthew 17:2

God invites us to see His face, to meet with Him so that He can begin to change us from the inside out and it all takes place through our worship of Him. What should our worship of God look like? It is the act of magnifying God and extending our image of Him. As we draw closer to Him, we realize how big He really is and suddenly nothing seems too difficult for us to handle.

A radiant, shining face is the characteristic of one who has been in His presence. His objective is that of changing our faces and hearts if we allow Him and only He can do that in our lives. Make it your desire to come to worship with a hungry and prepared heart so that you may leave changed and shining for Him.

"Father, help to see the importance of coming to you prepared and hungry for Your Word so that my face and heart may be changed. Give me the desire to want more from my time spent with You and let walk away changed and radiant for You."