Prayer allows the hungry heart to express itself and to be transformed. Prayer processes desire; we honestly express our feelings and then let God change them. In the light of that transformation, prayer gives way to thanksgiving, and thanksgiving carries us like an updraft that birds catch as they circle higher. Thanksgiving leads into worship.
Worship involves a variety of practices, as part of a group or alone. Here worship refers to our highest, most complete, and most direct relating to God. When we make a request for oneself or for others, we are praying; but there is an appreciation of God and gratitude to God that rises above prayer. Worship can even rise above what we can put into words. In worship we do as the Psalmist invited: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
The divine spirit helps us worship. The mind knows something of the truth of God. The spirit uplifts the mind and refreshes the soul. At its height, worship is not altogether something that we do; rather, it transpires within us. We need the spirit to take worship to the heights. As we consent to spirit leading, we cooperate in something beyond our comprehension. Trusting the God whose spirit dwells within brings security to our highest person-to-Person experience.
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I’ve been reading these posts since this website began but I am moved to comment on this one. The distinction between prayer and worship is beautifully written and in my experience, when I see the beauty that surrounds me, or some goodness in others there does ‘transpire’ within me an appreciation for the goodness of God, a thanksgiving for the opportunity of life and above all, a worshipfulness that goes beyond words. And I thank the spirit within me for the persistent guidance and patience that has fostered these experiences in me.
Beloved Michael, thank you for taking time out of your life as an illuminated farmer to read and now write to appreciate and share. I give thanks for what the spirit within you brings forth with your cooperation. Sometimes I think of the life of prayer as seeking value and the life of worship as celebrating value. When we seek on the basis of celebration, the seeking is blessed indeed.
Dearest Jeff – again, so very well said, “Sometimes I think of the life of prayer as seeking value and the life of worship as celebrating value.” I will remember this. Thanks for your continuing perseverance of effort to keep the spiritual candle burning brightly for us all.
As we used to say in primary school, “It takes one to know one.”
I’ve been reading these posts since this website began but I am moved to comment on this one. The distinction between prayer and worship is beautifully written and in my experience, when I see the beauty that surrounds me, or some goodness in others there does ‘transpire’ within me an appreciation for the goodness of God, a thanksgiving for the opportunity of life and above all, a worshipfulness that goes beyond words. And I thank the spirit within me for the persistent guidance and patience that has fostered these experiences in me.
Beloved Michael, thank you for taking time out of your life as an illuminated farmer to read and now write to appreciate and share. I give thanks for what the spirit within you brings forth with your cooperation. Sometimes I think of the life of prayer as seeking value and the life of worship as celebrating value. When we seek on the basis of celebration, the seeking is blessed indeed.
Dearest Jeff – again, so very well said, “Sometimes I think of the life of prayer as seeking value and the life of worship as celebrating value.” I will remember this. Thanks for your continuing perseverance of effort to keep the spiritual candle burning brightly for us all.
As we used to say in primary school, “It takes one to know one.”
Worship is the supreme experience in my spiritual life, but it was not always so. As I reflect back over my life, the process of prayer, thanksgiving, and worship unfolded this way. As a child I was taught to say the Lord’s prayer. My mother also sent me along with sisters and brothers to Sunday School up until I was age 14 where we learned about the stories of the bible and participated in the worship service. Also during the period of the early fifties, prayer and devotion were still being conducted in the public schools. But these were group activities, and not truly personal, not truly expressive of my inner most desires.
During the period before I became totally immersed in prayer, there were only two occasions where I truly prayed. One was in 1957 shortly after the death of my mother where I went along into the pantry and prayed to God, asking him to make me a man so I could take care of myself. The other was in 1967 when I was stationed in Italy during my military career. One Saturday night I had given a party, and had a delightful time. However I drank to much Johnny Walker Red and ate to many deviled eggs. When I lay down that night, it all bubbled back up into my throat, and I became “sick as a dog.” I promised God that if he would see me through this I would go to church the next morning. True to my word, after surviving the night, I attended the chapel service on the base. And there the matter of prayer rested until 1979.
During the year of 1979, I awakened to the realization that I was in a moral and spiritual bind. I become morally confused, and spiritually lost. I had assumed moral responsibilities that were not mine to assume, and had ignored some that were mine. I had misplaced values. I had reached the limits of my ability to resolved these difficulties that were literally tearing me apart internally. Here I began to pray in earnest, asking God to help me, to keep me, and reveal the truth of life to me. During this period of undergoing this transformation from self sufficiency to seeking divine sufficiency, there were not very many prayers of thanksgiving nor experiences of true worship.
My own needs were too acute.
It was not until I became sufficiently morally and spiritually safe in my own soul that I began to add thanksgiving to my prayer life. And this transfer from human wisdom to divine wisdom consumed quite a few years. But finally I became secure enough to realize that God had answered my basic prayers, and began to thank him. It was not possible for me to truly thank him until I realized that he was helping me as much as divinely possible. And when I realized that he was doing that, I became truly thankful for his goodness, and began to regularly pray for others.
But eventually the time came when I realized that God was truly good, that he had been with me through all those years of my not acknowledging him, that he was constantly trying to direct me, and reveal the truth of his love to me. I realized that though he did not and would not remove the consequences of my decision, he did help me to transcend them by showing me and giving me divine forgiveness, and giving me the hope, that one day, I would overcome the adverse consequences of my foolish decisions.
When I reflect upon the Father’s divine goodness, I am consumed with the desire to perfectly do his divine will. I am moved deeply within my soul to worship him, to be like him, to whole heartedly identify with him, to consciously be in his presence at all times, under all circumstances and all conditions, to want to love as he does, and to serve my brothers and sisters in whatever way I am able to. During the worship process when I remove myself from distracting influences, I often visualize my self as entering his divine presence on Paradise.
And now it is 2014. My petitions are mostly for others thought there are still a few elements of personal requests, mostly for spiritual values and growth, petitions of thanksgiving, but mostly the process is overwhelmingly dominated by worship. As I raced towards the spiritual finish line of this life, so does my faith climb to reach supreme levels as my desire for divine oneness accelerates.
I seek to purify my faith of all contaminations, to have it totally infused by love, and mercy. Yes worship is the supreme experience in my life, but the ladder of petitions for requests and petitions of thanksgiving had to be traversed first before worship could become the dominant experience in my spiritual life.
Dr Perry
Beloved brother Dr Perry! Some authors publish books by assembling their blog posts. You could publish one by assembling your comments.
Worship is the supreme experience in my spiritual life, but it was not always so. As I reflect back over my life, the process of prayer, thanksgiving, and worship unfolded this way. As a child I was taught to say the Lord’s prayer. My mother also sent me along with sisters and brothers to Sunday School up until I was age 14 where we learned about the stories of the bible and participated in the worship service. Also during the period of the early fifties, prayer and devotion were still being conducted in the public schools. But these were group activities, and not truly personal, not truly expressive of my inner most desires.
During the period before I became totally immersed in prayer, there were only two occasions where I truly prayed. One was in 1957 shortly after the death of my mother where I went along into the pantry and prayed to God, asking him to make me a man so I could take care of myself. The other was in 1967 when I was stationed in Italy during my military career. One Saturday night I had given a party, and had a delightful time. However I drank to much Johnny Walker Red and ate to many deviled eggs. When I lay down that night, it all bubbled back up into my throat, and I became “sick as a dog.” I promised God that if he would see me through this I would go to church the next morning. True to my word, after surviving the night, I attended the chapel service on the base. And there the matter of prayer rested until 1979.
During the year of 1979, I awakened to the realization that I was in a moral and spiritual bind. I become morally confused, and spiritually lost. I had assumed moral responsibilities that were not mine to assume, and had ignored some that were mine. I had misplaced values. I had reached the limits of my ability to resolved these difficulties that were literally tearing me apart internally. Here I began to pray in earnest, asking God to help me, to keep me, and reveal the truth of life to me. During this period of undergoing this transformation from self sufficiency to seeking divine sufficiency, there were not very many prayers of thanksgiving nor experiences of true worship.
My own needs were too acute.
It was not until I became sufficiently morally and spiritually safe in my own soul that I began to add thanksgiving to my prayer life. And this transfer from human wisdom to divine wisdom consumed quite a few years. But finally I became secure enough to realize that God had answered my basic prayers, and began to thank him. It was not possible for me to truly thank him until I realized that he was helping me as much as divinely possible. And when I realized that he was doing that, I became truly thankful for his goodness, and began to regularly pray for others.
But eventually the time came when I realized that God was truly good, that he had been with me through all those years of my not acknowledging him, that he was constantly trying to direct me, and reveal the truth of his love to me. I realized that though he did not and would not remove the consequences of my decision, he did help me to transcend them by showing me and giving me divine forgiveness, and giving me the hope, that one day, I would overcome the adverse consequences of my foolish decisions.
When I reflect upon the Father’s divine goodness, I am consumed with the desire to perfectly do his divine will. I am moved deeply within my soul to worship him, to be like him, to whole heartedly identify with him, to consciously be in his presence at all times, under all circumstances and all conditions, to want to love as he does, and to serve my brothers and sisters in whatever way I am able to. During the worship process when I remove myself from distracting influences, I often visualize my self as entering his divine presence on Paradise.
And now it is 2014. My petitions are mostly for others thought there are still a few elements of personal requests, mostly for spiritual values and growth, petitions of thanksgiving, but mostly the process is overwhelmingly dominated by worship. As I raced towards the spiritual finish line of this life, so does my faith climb to reach supreme levels as my desire for divine oneness accelerates.
I seek to purify my faith of all contaminations, to have it totally infused by love, and mercy. Yes worship is the supreme experience in my life, but the ladder of petitions for requests and petitions of thanksgiving had to be traversed first before worship could become the dominant experience in my spiritual life.
Dr Perry
Beloved brother Dr Perry! Some authors publish books by assembling their blog posts. You could publish one by assembling your comments.
This is a beautifully written reflection. The shimmering glow of prayer and the powerful ascension of worship are lovingly captured. Thank you for this, Jeffrey.
For me, the best of a prayerful experience is simply to share delight with God.
One of the delights of this topic is the variety of meanings associated with the terms “prayer” and “worship.” Each is used to name both varieties of spiritual experience that I distinguished here.
This is a beautifully written reflection. The shimmering glow of prayer and the powerful ascension of worship are lovingly captured. Thank you for this, Jeffrey.
For me, the best of a prayerful experience is simply to share delight with God.
One of the delights of this topic is the variety of meanings associated with the terms “prayer” and “worship.” Each is used to name both varieties of spiritual experience that I distinguished here.