The Heart of Worship

Once we know that worshipping God is our #1 purpose we need to figure out how to do that. What's at the heart? Surrender.

Surrendering means that we trust him fully. Fear will keep us from knowing him better and pride keeps us from accepting our limitations and realizing that we aren't God. One of the most difficult areas to surrender is finances.

When we fully surrender our lives to God we will experience peace, freedom and God's power in our lives.

So how do we surrender? It's not a just one time event of accepting Christ and choosing to follow him. It is a moment-by moment, lifelong choice. When we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice it is easy to get up and walk off the altar. We need to make surrender a daily habit.

Luke 9:23
If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing to give up their lives daily to follow me.

God deeply desires that we know him intimately.

Jeremiah 9:24
If any want to boast, they should boast that they know and understand me...These are the things that please me.

To develop this friendship we need to choose to be honest with God (anger, frustration, happiness, sorrow), choose to obey God in faith, choose to value what God values, and desire friendship with God more than anything else. We are as close to God as we choose to be.

Jeremiah 29:13
When you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed.

God wants to be included in EVERY activity, conversation, problem and thought. We need to take time to spend alone with God but that is only a small part of our waking hours. This may mean putting things in our lives to remind us throughout the day so that we train ourselves to remember God.

We also need to reading his word and thinking about his word throughout the day. It is impossible to be God's friend if we don't know what he says.

Job 23:12
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.

Psalm 119:97
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.

Psalm 77:12
They are constantly in my thoughts. I cannot stop thinking about them.

Prayer lets you speak to God; meditation lets God speak to you. Both are essential to becoming a friend of God.