Do you find it easy to make time for daily worship in your life? Life can be hectic, and it can be easy to focus on things in the earthly dimension as they clamor for our attention. We wake up, think about what's coming up for us today, take a shower, get the kids dressed, and get ready for work. Maybe we fix our lunch to take to work with us, maybe we make time for exercise. The alarm wakes us, the radio is on, and we check our phones as soon as we can. Life can be so busy and so noisy that we forget to make room to worship God.
But what if we stopped before we had even started with a pause? Whether we are going through a great time or a difficult one, it is a great practice just to stop and build a pause in our lives. In John Eldredge's book Get Your Life Back, Eldredge talks about a one-minute pause, which you can do several times a day, where you stop what you are doing, breathe in and then out again, slowly, saying 'Jesus, I give everything and everyone to You' (Nashville: Nelson, 2020, p.6). You can say this as many times as you feel you need, letting everything go that is outside of your control. And then you can ask Jesus to fill you with more of Himself. When we come to God in this way, we are relinquishing control of our lives. We are saying, Lord, You are on the throne of my life. And the wonderful thing about this one-minute pause is that we can practice it anywhere, finding little pockets throughout the day where we can just stop what we are doing and come up for air. God wants to be involved in all the moments in our lives; the joys and the sorrows and He wants us to live our lives with Him, speaking to Him, spending time with Him and resting in His presence. None of this is new. Acts of daily worship have been passed down for generations.
The Examen was originally practiced by St Ignatius and was passed down through the church. You can find a quick guide here. Essentially, the examen refers to examining our own life. It is best done at noon or at the end of the day. There are five steps. 1. Become aware of God’s presence. 2. Review the day with gratitude. 3. Pay attention to your emotions. 4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it. 5. Look toward tomorrow. In this way, we use the guidance of God to lead us through the circumstances of our life and we take time to learn from it all; the good and the bad. Read on for some more suggestions of ways to turn towards God in some of the ordinary moments of the day.
Here is a simple guide for moving through the moments in the morning. You could use this guide to help you to worship God daily through your routine.
"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10 Remember this. Before you even get out of bed and before you have achieved anything at all.
'As I turn on the light, and as the light floods this room, I remember You, Lord, as You flooded this world with light when You were born in a manger. Lord, today, and every day be the light that guides me through the day. Amen.' "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12
'As I stretch, I reach to you, God. I reach beyond the visible, to the heavenly. I lift my eyes up to heaven and I ask that You would come near to me today, O God. Amen' "I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2
As you make your first drink of the day: 'Father, sustainer of all life. Sustain me today. Fill me with Your energy, Your love, Your power. Thank You that Your grace is sufficient for me. Amen.' "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9
'As I ready myself for the day ahead, may I know Your presence with me each step of the way. May I know Your peace around me as I move through the day. Amen.' "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." Ephesians 6:14-17
'Father, as I turn out the light and as my head hits the pillow, thank You that You are faithful, that You have been with me today, that You have kept me from harm. I surrender my worries and fears right now and say sorry for my sins. I sleep knowing that You will never leave me. Amen.' "In peace, I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8
It is as easy as that. Becoming aware of ourselves and our habits. Making space to pause. Turning to God whenever we can. Making room for Him to speak into our lives. We hope this blog has encouraged you to make time for daily worship in your life. Be encouraged. You can find the time, it's just a matter of noticing those little moments when you can come to Him. 'Father, thank You that You want to walk this path alongside us. Thank You that you long to be involved in the little things as well as the big. Amen.' "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7 Be sure to check out our other blogs at Glorify. Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash Photo by moises ferreira on Unsplash
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