A plug for Grace Oasis: Start Your Day Worshipping God in Spirit and Truth – Morning Prayer

Confession before sharing the below devotional and prayer: I’ve been caught in this place between desperation for God to move, and my sin, but not only my sin, but a struggle to actually get myself to make changes that would allow God to move in the ways I want and perhaps even need. I hear people talk about making changes like it’s easy and there’s nothing to it. Obviously it’s not easy, but I would argue that the reality for me regarding such things is more than just that. It’s one thing to say doing something is “hard”; it’s quite another to be in the position itself, with my exact history (you’ll need to re-read through some of my other blog posts for more details as to what). That said, it’s not something God Himself cannot overcome, and as such, knowing my need for Him to make those changes in me, gives me hope that these Godly changes can and will still happen. It’s also why I gravitate toward this verse:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV

At the end of the day, it’s about the power of Christ resting up all who believe in Him, love Him, and are called according to His purpose.

Transcription:

Before we pray, lets first take a moment to listen to God’s Word, and then we’ll pray together. There is nothing as powerful as starting our day with worship. There is nothing like adoring Him, showing Him your gratitude and honor with songs and prayers early. It sets the day right, but worship cannot be done haphazardly. There is a way that worship must be done for it to be acceptable. Scripture tells us that there is a way we must worship the Lord. The brief verse in John 4:24 tells us clearly how worship must be done. That verse says, “God is Spirit, and His worshippers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” This is the prescription if we are to offer true worship. Now, what exactly does this mean? I believe that to fully understand what the Lord means when He speaks of worshipping in Spirit and in truth, it is necessary for us to dial back a bit. We need to go further back, to before John 4:24. In John 4, starting from verse 19, the Bible tells us of Jesus speaking to a Samaritan woman. And in their discussion, the subject of worship came up. John 4:19-23 has it this way: “The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth.’” When the Bible talks about worshipping in Spirit and in truth, I believe it is telling us the location and intention that help us to engage in true worship. I believe Jesus’s answer foretells the future of worship here, first in terms of location. The Bible tells us of Old Jerusalem. It tells us of the old places of worship and how people came to worship God there. But Jesus’s answer reveals to us a change in that location. No longer will the place our worship be outward, but inward, in the Spirit, in a place where only a man seeking to truly worship and God can reach, such that even when we stand in a church building, there must be a transition and an awareness of where we are to be, which is in the Spirit. The Bible says that worship must be done first in spirit. We are spiritual beings, and I believe, as Christians, because our spirits were revived when we gave our lives to Christ, we immediately possess within us the facility to communicate with the Lord. We have within us the ability to exist in that same realm with God, and that realm is where our meeting in worship takes place. But I find that today, what I find most important is not just being in the Spirit. What I find most important is not just finding that we are connected to God in that realm of the Spirit. The Bible does not just say to be in Spirit, but also to be in truth. I have found that being in truth in the place of worship has to do with speaking truthfully to the Lord. That may sound simple in itself, but I have found that it is something easier said than done, and it is something that many fail to fulfill when worshipping God. When we are in the place of worship, whatever we say to the Lord must be true. Whatever we worship Him with, however we choose to adore Him, the words that come out of our mouths must be things that are actually true in our hearts. We cannot lie to the Lord in the place of worship. We cannot pay lip service. Our hearts and our words must be in agreement. We must mean what we say. We cannot say He is great when we do not mean it. We cannot honor Him as Savior when we do not believe in His saving grace. That is why worship must be heart-deep, faith-deep, and not just borne out of our thinking or our minds. It is conscious. We worship out of what we believe of God, and when we offer that worship, we must offer it from the depths of our hearts, from the depths of our very being, whether it is through songs or through prayers. Worship is one of those things that we can give to God to show what Me means to us, to show that we appreciate Him and love Him. However, worship is much more than that as well. When we get into the habit of daily worship, we will find that worship is also a transport. It is a transport that brings us straight into the presence of the Lord when done right, when done truly. Worship brings us to a place where we meet with the Lord. When we are in the place of worship, we are with the Lord, and He is with us. That is why the place of worship is sacred. The place of worship cleanses us. It purifies us from the burdens of previous days. It helps us to see the things that burden our minds differently. It rescues us from heartaches and stress because it helps us to see God’s solution to these matters as our minds are focused on Him. The place of worship also transforms us and brings us closer to God. Now, when we incorporate this into our daily lives and do it early in the morning, we come out full of His presence. We come out full of joy. We come out as people who have been touched by the Lord. There will always be a difference in a day that we start in His presence compared to one we did not start in His presence with. When you start the day in His presence, the difference is clear, and it shows even to those around us, even when they do not know what they are looking at. They just know something is different. Even you know the day is different when it starts with the Lord. That is why we must start the day with worship; not just with worship itself, but with acceptable worship, worship that is done in spirit and in truth. I invite you today to start this day like that. Let it be an experiment, and see what happens in you that day. Go before the Lord. Enter into His presence with worship. Stay there for a while, pray, fellowship with Him, and see how it becomes easier day by day. You can also start right now. You can make a commitment to this right now by saying a brief prayer with the believers here, even as you commit to worshipping the Lord in Spirit and in truth at the start of your day. If you are ready to make this commitment, pray with me:

Gracious Heavenly Father, I thank You for opening Your Word to me, and for helping me to see how important it is to start each day worshipping in Spirit and in truth. I have heard Your Word today, and I want to commit to this. I want to learn to fellowship with [You] at the start of the day so that I can have a stronger relationship with [You], so that my day can be different, so that my days can start with a full awareness of You, and so I can live that day knowing You are with me. But today, Lord, I admit that I do not know how to start. I have never committed to a lifestyle of worship, nor have I had one, even on and off. This is new terrain for me, and that is why I ask today that You teach me. Teach me what to do. Teach me how to worship You. Teach me how to worship You truly. I have heard it from the Word today. I have seen that it is possible, so I ask today that You help me to make this a part of my life practically. I do not want to start haphazardly, Lord, and even though I do not know what I am doing right now, I pray that You take me by the hand and lead me through it. Holy Spirit, lead me into true worship. Teach me how to focus my mind, quiet my heart, and give my full attention to the Lord. Remove every distraction that tries to pull me away from Your presence. Help me not to worship from pressure, emotion, or habit alone, but from a heart that is fully aware of who [You are] and fully surrendered before [You]. I also ask, Lord, that even as I start, You help me know what it truly means to be in Your presence. I want to know what it truly means to start each day in Your presence, to start each day in fellowship with You. From this day on, Lord, let my days be different. Let the way I live and the way I make decisions each day be different because I have been with You at the start of the day. I also pray, Lord, let this lifestyle transform me. Help me to build a relationship with You. Let this lifestyle of worship take me from just barely scraping by, just barely trying to know You, to fully believing in You, fully following You, and truly knowing You. Let Your presence transform me. Let Your presence bring out the best in me, the things in me that have long lain dormant. I pray that even as I worship and pray, Lord, You change me. May the worship I give in the morning stay with me all day. Let it influence my words, my thoughts, how I treat people, and how I handle difficulties. Please help me stay close to You and not act as if I was never with You. Keep me aware of Your presence, guide my decisions, protect my heart, and help me follow Your ways. Lord, please help me stay committed. Help me begin with confidence. As I start, let this be more than a one-time effort. Let it mark the start of something good, the start of a new way of living. Keep me from growing tired or losing interest in worshipping You after only a few days or weeks. Help me remain dedicated. Thank You again, Lord, for this Word today. Thank You for showing this to me, and thank You for answered prayers. Thank you because I know that from now on, I am transformed by time in Your presence at the beginning of the day through the altar of worship. I thank You because from now on, I am renewed. I thank You because from now on, I come to a place of knowing You intimately. I know that from this moment on, I offer true worship and true adoration from the depth of my heart whenever I come before You. Once again, I say, thank You, Jesus. All the glory to Your name, Amen.

I hope this devotion has encouraged you to start each day in true worship before the Lord. May your heart learn to worship Him in Spirit and in truth from now on. If you have any special prayer requests, we would be honored to pray for you. Feel free to share them in the comments. And if Grace Oasis ministry has blessed your life, please consider joining our Patreon or supporting us through “Buy Me A Coffee.” At this time, your support is the only source of funding for this ministry as we continue sharing God’s Word every day. If you are not able to support today, that is completely OK. Your prayers and support mean so much to us.

May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always. God bless you!