DEVOTIONAL

Prayer : Father, today I want to thank you for all the blessings that you have given me. I thank you for your amazing love and for being my strong tower and helping me to live for Jesus, my saviour. Please speak to me today and help me to give you the worship you are worthy of. Please in your mercy hear my prayer for the glory of Jesus.

Invitation to Confession : Father God I come before your throne of grace and mercy, I confess and acknowledge I have sinned against you in thought and deed, today I ask to forgive me and, in your grace, purify my heart, cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. And in your great love lead me and help me to walk in the paths of righteousness, so that I may bring glory to you the one triune God. Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy. I now receive your forgiveness and mercy in the name of my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ 

Praise and worship : Isaiah 25:1 “LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done wonderful things, things planned long ago”. 

Worship song :  Hosanna in the highest (Hill Song)
I see the King of glory

Coming on the clouds with fire,

The whole earth shakes,

the whole earth shakes

I see His love and mercy

Washing over all our sin

the people sing,

the people sing

Hosanna

Hosanna

Hosanna in the highest

Hosanna in the highest,

I see a generation

Rising up to take the place

With selfless faith,

with selfless faith

I see a near revival

Stirring as we pray and seek,

We're on our knees,

we're on our knees

Hosanna

Hosanna

Hosanna in the highest

Hosanna

Hosanna in the highest

Heal my heart and make it clean,

Open up my eyes to the things unseen,

Show me how to love like You have loved me,

Break my heart for what breaks Yours,

Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause

As I walk from nothing to eternity

Hosanna

Hosanna

Hosanna in the highest

Hosanna

Hosanna.

God’s words : Psalm 96:9 "Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth."

Devotional : In this journey of seeking God, I have and am discovering that worshipping God in songs of praise and giving thanks takes me below the surface to a place where you begin to have a glimpse of the holiness and awe and greatness of God. I like what A. W. Tozer said, “Worship is the missing jewel in the Christian Church”. One of the ways we worship is through song. When we are in that attitude of worship in spirit and truth it draws us into the presence of God, which causes you us to bow down and give God the glory and hour due His name.

Have you ever asked yourself  “What is the most important thing we can offer to God? What is the thing He desires most? One of the most important things we can give God is our worship to Him. Worship reminds me God alone is worthy of our devotion, praise, and worship. He is God, our Creator and the Psalmists reminds us in Psalm 96:9 "Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth." And Psalm 29:2 says, "Give unto the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."

Brothers and sisters God created us to worship Him and have fellowship with Him. I have discovered one of the ways we can go deeper, and experience God’s presence is through worship of songs. To worship God effectively in song, we need to prepare our hearts and our minds so we can forget about ourselves and worship the Lord. Before we start to praise and worship God, we need to have a correct attitude of praise, thankfulness, gratitude, and humility. When we worship, we are in a place of adoration and thanks and declaring His greatness and love. When we worship, we glorify, honour, praise, exalt, and God and give him the honour that’s due to His name. 

When we worship it is our response to his great love. Something that I have been thinking about for several years now is when we worship God in song, what are we really doing? There have been times when I have been singing with my lips are moving but I know my heart is far away. I believe if we really worshipped God in song from deep within our hearts we would surely be on our knees. It’s when truly worship God I believe we will get a glimpse of who He truly is.  When we worship, we are in a place of adoration. When we worship, we glorify, honour, praise, exalt, and God and give him the honour that’s due to His name. I believe worshipping and praising God focuses us on Him and creates a desire to love Him and a desire to go deeper and as you go deeper you can experience more of His presence and love. 

God has promised that as we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us and as we it will deepen the bond of love between us and God. In worship God draws you closer to Him and opens the door into His heart. We want to be in that place in our lives where we can say with the psalmists in Psalm:146:2 “I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live” When we get caught up in the wonder of worship in songs of praise you can cry out those words I’m Lost in wonder, I'm lost in love I'm lost in praise forevermore. Worship will build us up spiritually and keep us strong from crumbling un-der the pressures of life "for the joy of the LORD is your strength" Neh. 8:10. It’s in that place of worship God reveals His presence, His holiness and glory. 

And it’s in in that experience He touches the core of our being and releases Joy and        freedom into our spirit. We were made to praise God, and this is what we will do eternally. John was given a vision of our future: Revelation 5:13 "I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever”. In worship God draws us closer to Him and opens the door of His heart and reveals who He is. 

I believe when we begin to get a glimpse of who God is, we are able to sing these wonderful words from the song "I Worship You, Almighty God”. “I worship You, Almighty God, there is none like you. I worship you, oh Prince of Peace, that is what I long to do. I give you praise, for you are my righteousness. I worship You, Almighty God; there is none like you”. I think it’s important to say we don’t worship God just to get a good feeling. We worship God  because he is worthy to be praised and worshipped and because he is the one triune God Father Son and Holy Spirit.  The Psalmist reminds us in Psalm 96:4 “For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods”. I believe that you can find that real intimacy with God when you worship God in spirit and truth.  

Drawing deeper into God came for me when I began to worship God in songs of praise and thanks. I think generally when we come to God we come with our problems and tend to focus on our needs and wants and woes. I think when we come to God with that approach it’s so easy to fall into a place of despair. I have discovered that when you focus on yourself you begin focusing on your problems and become self-centred. This is what the devil wants us. He wants us to focus on ourselves, instead of focusing on God. 
The Bible reminds us that when we come to that place of worship, we should in Psalm 100:4 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise”. Brothers and sisters when we give thanks to God we are singing and speaking a language of love. Praise and thanksgiving takes us in a place of intimacy and love for God. When we worship God with thanksgiving, He opens the windows of heaven and gives us a glimpse of His glory and the splendor of His majesty. 

When you worship Somehow your heart is lifted and whatever difficulty you are going through you able to say with David in Psalm 40:2-3. “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him”. I am discovering day by day how important in songs of praise is. It lifts your heart to a place where you can say “I’m Lost in wonder; I'm lost in love I'm lost in praise forevermore”. (Lost in wonder by Martyn Layzell). I am convinced that Worship and Praise will build us up spiritually and keep us strong and keep you from crumbling under the pressures of life "for the joy of the LORD is your strength" (Neh. 8:10). 

It’s in that place of worship God reveals His presence, His holiness and glory. And it’s in that experience He touches the core of our being and releases Joy and into our spirit. We were made to praise God, and this is what we will do eternally. John was given a vision of our future. We read in Revelation 5:13 "I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!".

Personal Prayers : 

Closing Prayer : Father God thank you for the wonderful gift of been able to worship you. Release in my heart a desire to worship you in songs of praise and thanks. As I worship you, I want to give you the glory and thank you for the hope I have now because of all that Jesus did for me on the cross. Receive my worship this day and in your tender mercies hear my prayers, for I ask them in the Saviour name my lord and king, the Lord Jesus.