A Prayer to Set Priorities for Worship in Your Busy Life
By Jessica Van Roekel
Bible Reading
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." - Romans 12:1, NIV
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I’m working at the church surrounded by decades of memories. We celebrate fifty years this year, and one thing has remained constant, and that is the desire to love God, love people, and make a difference. These are the parameters that guide our decisions. It sounds easy, yes? But, like with all priorities, things can get in the way. Sometimes, we wrestle through opinions and preferences. Other times, discouragement about hoped-for outcomes leads us to hesitate to make a difference or to love people. And sometimes, the busyness of church business pushes our vision aside.
Not only does God call us to a community of believers in the local church, but he calls us to cultivate an individual relationship with him. He desires our hearts, our lives, and our worship. We are wrong to think worship is merely the twenty to forty minutes of music during a church service when it’s really a way of life. Worship comes from an old English word, worthship, which describes the actions and attitudes that highly favor and honor worthiness. Within the biblical context, it expresses awe and adoration to God. True worship is God-centered, with our hearts and minds focused on God’s attributes rather than on ourselves.
When we worship God, we experience a heartfelt interaction between our spirit and God’s Spirit. We can do this through actions, words, and songs. In Hebrews 13:15, we read, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” Worship involves celebrating Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice, and we express this through prayer, confession of sin, preaching and reading God’s Word, tithing, experiencing the gifts of the Holy Spirit, sharing the Lord’s Supper, and water baptism. We can worship God corporately and individually.
But life gets busy. Trials push hope aside. We rush from one event to another. We serve in the church and our communities, but do we do all this busyness from a heart of worship? We can grow so focused on action and what to do next that we forget to exalt God. True worship is lost when we reduce it to mere words and formalities. We can also hinder a daily heart of worship when we live a life of spiritual compromise.
We can choose to live our lives from a posture of worship though. In Romans 12:1, the Apostle Paul appeals to our will because God gives us a choice. Paul urges us to remember the mercies of God. This makes it possible to be living sacrifice. God’s mercies removed the impossible barrier between us so we can be in God’s presence every day, no matter what we face.
The Lord calls us his own and showers us with grace. He gives us the Holy Spirit to help us and brings assurance to our hearts of a future eternity with him. When we dwell on his mercies, it’s easier to live as a living sacrifice—not merely working for him but being with him. God wants you, not just what you do. Worship becomes a true sacrifice when we live in a way that honors, exalts, and brings positive attention to God outside our church walls. Setting our priorities to make living a life of worship in our busy lives is worth it.
Let’s Pray:
Holy God,
You are holy and righteous, and you call me your own. Thank you, Father, for your love and assurance. I want to make worshiping you a priority in my life. Help me turn to you in prayer more often, and help me to choose music that reminds me to worship you. I want to think about your mercy more. Please remind me of Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice. I want to live my life in a way that honors you, exalts you, and reveals your goodness to those around me. Worshiping you every day means I will find my comfort, strength, and encouragement in you rather than in other things. When I worship you, I’m reminded of your presence in my life, and I need you every day. Help me make you a priority. I want to think about you and be filled with peace and joy, which comes when I worship you. Help me remember that my life is not too busy for you.
In Jesus’ name, Amen
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Ridofranz
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Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
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Originally published Sunday, 29 September 2024.
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