Worshiping And Praying Where You Go

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This is the Truth Network. Encouraging Prayer. God offers an open invitation for His people to talk with Him at any time about anything. On Encouraging Prayer, Dr. James Banks, author of the best-selling Prayers for Prodigals and many other books on prayer, provides weekly biblical insight to help you learn to love to pray.

And now, here's James. Well, today we're going to talk about really how to worship where you are, no matter where that may be. Exactly, yeah. I was thinking about Hebrews 11 21 this week that says, Jacob worshiped as he leaned on his staff. The point is that he was right there worshiping wherever he was. And I think that's really important for us to keep in mind that we can and should worship wherever we are. That worship is so much more than just something that happens for, you know, an hour a week on Sunday, because if that's what we think worship is, we're doing something wrong.

Oh, that's precious. Absolutely, because I, you know, part of my guess, the quest of my life is to feel like I'm in prayer throughout the day and actually, you know, where you never actually hang up. You're just there to be able to do that in the moment. Well, that's right, because really to worship is to pray, you know. If we're truly worshiping, it's not just this event where we, you know, go through, I don't know, a different number of motions, whether it be singing or reading or whatever. True worship is of the heart. You know, Jesus said that true worshipers will worship in spirit and in truth. And so this is where we want to go with this. You know, how are we worshiping from the heart?

What does that look like? And again, we looked at prayer as such an important part of that, because, you know, again, if you're praying, then sometimes you're going to be worshiping. You know, you're going to be praising God, you're going to be thanking Him.

Sure, you're going to be praying about needs, you know, but how about worship? Where does that happen? How about you, Robbie? Well, I, you know, I feel like the luckiest person on the planet sometimes, because I, you know, just yesterday, I was doing an interview with Landon Rescue and hearing this courageous man in Afghanistan, who had the courage actually to speak his name.

He's in Afghanistan, helping people get out of Afghanistan. And I was just like, God, how amazing is this? That not only are you doing this, but I get to hear about it. I get to be the one on the other end of the mic here. While this is going on, I remember the worship experience just yesterday, I was really overwhelmed.

Yeah, that's amazing. I think about how much we need to do this. Because when we worship, we're with Jesus, you know, it's welcoming Him into the moment. And we want to give our hearts to Him. Think about what Psalm 100 says, serve the Lord with gladness.

And I read a great quote from Spurgeon about that this past week. He said, in the service of God, delight is a symbol of acceptance. Those who serve God with a sad face, because they do what is unpleasant to them, are not serving Him at all.

They bring the form of honor, but the life is absent. And so, you know, He's given us life, and we want to give our lives to Him by just loving Him as we live. That's why this has to be real, you know, it's got to be that kind of thing where we're just giving Him our hearts, no matter what's on them, and understanding that He's always worthy of worship. So think about where this can happen, you know, before your feet hit the floor, and you get out of bed, of course, before you eat a meal, or if you've forgotten in the middle of the meal, you know, when your head hits the pillow at night, and then so many places in between, you know, and of course, it's not just where, it's how.

How do you do it? Do you tell God that you love Him? Do you sing a song to Him? Do you just lift up your hand as an expression of love to Him?

It could be anything. Think of what Eric Liddell said, you know, God made me fast, and when I run, I feel like I'm fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure. Well, you give that back to Him in the things that He made you to love to do by just worshiping Him. I was serious when I was talking about behind the wheel, because lately, you know, I've been trying to memorize 119 Psalm. And as I am going through that, I like to do that when I drive, right. And so I'm quoting this. And recently, I've noticed that the Holy Spirit will give me the next line. And I'll go, oh, that's you, because I know it wasn't really me.

Like, how did that happen, that the next line is right there? And then I was just like, how cool is that, God, that I, you know, I think I'm memorizing the 119 Psalm, but in a way, you're really giving it to me. So I was just loving that. I was thinking about it, as you were talking, like, man, that is so from my heart, and I do it, you know, almost, well, actually, every day now, where I'm just like, God, that is so cool that you do that.

Yeah, and that is so cool. Because this really is a matter of the heart. And what we find is that He helps our heart as we give ourselves to Him in worship, you know, He has a way of coming into those difficult places. And sometimes, especially, you know, when we're just going through it, whatever it may be, taking that, that, that moment to say, No, I'm going to worship God changes everything.

And we need to do this. And God helps our hearts, as we do. Well, speaking of also that, you know, I have this great friend who sent me this book. And I have been for a while trying to figure out something I can do right before I put my head on the pillow. And this friend sent me this book by Charles Spurgeon, that really gives me this opportunity. And the neat thing about this book is Spurgeon is so, I mean, he always hits me with something I never had thought about, like, just last night, he was talking about how Jesus, when he was on the road to Emmaus, was not only the teacher, but he was the subject. And I was just marveling, you know, what a neat thing, right before you put your head on the pillow, to have something like that to be able to enjoy God with. Yeah, yeah, it's so important, you know, to just find what works for us. But again, to love Him, you know, again, this comes back to the first commandment to love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, all your mind.

And that's, that's what matters most of all. Or that's the great commandment, I should say. And, you know, doing that, it's good, just wherever we are, if you're listening today to stop and ask yourself, am I worshiping? Have I worshiped today? Worshiping anywhere is never a substitute for being part of a family of believers.

But in addition to your regular worship with a family of faith, are you worshiping and loving the Lord, wherever you are? Jesus, thank you, thank you, thank you that we can, you know, lean on our staff at any point, at any time and just reflect on how amazing you are. Lord, give us what our appetite for that, as it just seems to bring on more times. And I pray that we would this week put this into practice in our lives. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray.