A while back, I talked about the importance of praising God every day. From morning to evening, our souls long to worship our Lord. So how can we do that? We only go to church a couple times per week, and usually only one of those is for structured worship. Here are a few ideas.
Listen to worship music: This might seem overly simple, but it’s a good habit and starting point. There’s a lot of great music out there that glorifies God and by listening to it, the words will start to stick in your brain. It is somewhat passive, but you do have to choose what to listen to. So you can make the conscious choice to improve your spiritual diet by picking worship music.
Sing along: And to take it a huge step further, you can actually sing along, out loud, with the worship songs you’re listening to. Now, I don’t mean just mumbling; I mean full-on singing. The car is a great place to start, especially when you’re alone. And even when you’re not alone, depending on the company, you can still sing along. Cab drivers, you may want to ask your passengers first.
Sing with your family: Singing together as a family is a great way to praise God. You might be a little hesitant at first, but this is your family. They won’t judge you (I hope!) and worshiping together will strengthen your family. Some teens may not be excited about it, but then, they probably aren’t excited about much of anything that involves the rest of the family. Whether this is a cappella, accompanied by whatever instruments you and yours can play, or done with a commercial recording, it's a great way to teach your children the importance and enjoyment of praising God. And, as I mentioned above, the car is awesome for this.
Read Psalms and lyrics aloud: Psalms were the original worship songs. By reading them aloud, you can use these powerful words as worship in your daily life. Along with reading Psalms, you can read aloud the lyrics of hymns and praise songs, and use them as prayerful worship. Note, this is different from reading silently or singing. The act of vocalizing lets you engage your physical body in worship, and reading, versus singing, lets you focus on the words more than the music. So I think this is a good complement to other forms of worship.
Of course there are lots of other ways to worship God every day, and we should strive to worship him in all we do. Please share any ideas you have found helpful. The key is to build some worshipful habits and dedicate some time each day to praising God. It is not meant to be a chore or duty, but a renewing, uplifting part of our daily lives.
Comments
Great ideas, Christy. Have you seen Psalms for All Seasons? All of the Psalms are printed there along with songs, hymns or choruses that go with each Psalm. We love to use it in our home with family worship, in the home of someone who is too ill to go to church, or devotionally with my grandchildren. (They love to take turns being the 'leader' and reading the regularly printed text while the rest of us read the bold print.) There is also a simple prayer at the end of each Psalm that can be read by young or old. It's a great way to read the Psalms together.
Diane, that sounds awesome. I think we might have a copy of that book somewhere at church; I'll have to take a look at it.
Great ideas, Christy! When I was young, our family used to sing songs from the hymn book for a half hour or so after the supper meal on Sunday night. Everyone got to pick one or two favorites, and we started to learn harmony in acapella. Now with our own family we usually follow the practice of singing a couple songs or more after every supper meal, some acapella, and some with piano accompaniment. Guests get to pick a favorite and they usually enjoy it as well. We do this after reading a piece of scripture. The songs include hymns, praise songs, spirituals, or whatever we like that honors God.
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