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Establish a Regular Routine

"David lived a life of continuous worship and invites us to do the same: 'May those who love Your salvation say continually, Great is the Lord!'" (Psalm 40:16) Do you have a regular worship routine? Does your worship really extend beyond Sunday morning? In order to get the most out of our times together on Sunday we have to enter with a heart that is full of worship. In order to do that, we need to be worshiping throughout the week in addition to what we do on Sunday morning. So how do you worship throughout the week? I will offer a few suggestions, but keep in mind this list is far from exhaustive. It is good to try out different things in order to keep your time with God fresh, so feel free to add things to this list!

At the beginning of your devotions, try spending a few minutes praising God, "either verbally or in writing, drawing on whatever attribute of His" that comes to mind. Most of the time it will be the one that you have recently seen or experienced! Sometimes the attribute or characteristic of God that you will be drawn to will reflect a specific need in your life. For example, when times are tough, you may be drawn to God's comfort. Spend time praising Him for being the Comforter that you need. Reading the Psalms is a great way to find different attributes of God that you might not normally think of. When you are reading the Psalms, try reading them out loud. "Originally, psalms were intended to be sung or spoken. I find that reading psalms out loud forces me to slow down and read the words more carefully and thoughtfully."

During your devotions, with each passage of scripture you are reading, answer two questions:

1. How does this passage apply to my life?
2. What does this Scripture tell me about who God is?

"The Bible is our ultimate authority on God-what He's like, how He thinks, and how He acts." So throughout your reading, be on the lookout for attributes of God and names of God (He has many in scripture), and take time to thank Him for those!

How much time do you spend meditating? Let me clarify what I mean by meditating. When I say meditating all I mean "is simply taking the time to think about who God is and what God has done." To be honest, I find it difficult to meditate because my mind tends to roam all over the place. Here are some questions you might ask during your meditation time.

1. How have I seen this particular name or attribute of God manifested in my life or in the world around me?
2. Why am I drawn to this particular aspect of God's character?
3. How did Jesus embody this attribute of God?
4. How can I reflect this part of God to others?
5. Is God inviting me to do anything in relation to this particular name (of God) or attribute?

Try praying about the names and attributes of God that you are reading about! "Do you ever feel like you prayers are dull and repetitive? Try "to include a line or two of praise for an attribute of God when" you pray. It doesn't matter if you are praying during your devotions, at mealtime, or anytime in between! "If you want to breathe more life into your prayers, try praying as you worship and worshiping as you pray."

Have you ever written your own Psalm? Some of you are poets and songwriters! Every songwriter or poet will tell you that 98% of what they write will never see the light of day outside of the room it was written in. So don't think that everything you write has to be wordy or eloquent, because it doesn't! It just has to be a genuine offering of praise before God! I find that this greatly enriches my personal worship time. I have probably written at least 10 songs for every 1 song that you will ever hear. Sometimes I sing them when I am doing my devotions as an expression of praise to God. Maybe you should try it too!

Maybe you aren't really into writing your own songs or poems. Have you tried singing other people's songs or reading other people's poems to God as an act of personal worship? Christianity has a deep and rich tradition of songs that date back to the first century, surely you can find a few that you would want to sing to God during your personal time of worship!

Others of you may find that worship happens spontaneously when you are out in nature. "If you're a nature lover, you need to schedule regular field trips to the nearest forest preserve, nature center, or beach. You could go for long leisurely walks every day or once a week. Consider a bike ride or road trip into the country. Bring a camera and take pictures. Draw or sketch your favorite scenes. Write down your thoughts. Describe what you see. Read Scripture. And don't forget to worship as you go. Sing praise to the Lord. May you join David, a fellow nature lover, in exclaiming, 'The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork' (Psalm 19:1)."

"Whether it's listening to music, being out in nature, or doing something else that calls forth your worship, make sure you intentionally incorporate those activities into your regular routine." Again, the things we have talked about today are not even close to all of the things you could do to worship. But whatever you are doing, I hope that God will lead you into a deeper and exciting discipline of private worship.

Enjoy the Journey