Feeding a Hungry Soul: Heart Felt Praise and Worship

Psalm 9: 1-2~

I will praise You, O Lord, with ALL my heart!

I will tell of all Your marvelous works.

I will be glad and rejoice in You.

I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Let’s take this day to stop and reflect on His glory and give Him a sacrifice of praise through a personal time of devotion.

Devotion, by definition, is an act of prayer or private worship. A devotional is a short worship service. And that’s what we are going to do today, have a short and private worship service. This act of worship is going to take place at your reserved table for 2. The table God has reserved for you and just for you! It’s just you and God. So take this opportunity to worship Him with all of your heart. No distractions from others around you. No concerns of what others are thinking as they watch you.

I hope you are as excited about this as I am. Even as I write my heart is leaping at the idea of such a time of worship with my Heavenly Father! What an opportunity to return to Him a sacrifice of praise for all that He has promised and provided. Let’s not dismiss this day as something to rush through so we can get on with our busy schedules. Let’s focus on the word ‘sacrifice’ and make this a time of worship and praise that costs us a little personal comfort and time. It would be so easy to go through the motions below and check off this day of devotion as we would with any other ‘to do’ list. But then we would miss out on the joy of drawing even closer to God.

Now, some may be wondering what a personal worship service looks like, and many of us are so accustomed to an Order of Worship given to us as we enter our corporate worship services that doing it on our own may seem intimidating. So let me help with this suggested order of worship as laid out by our featured Psalm!

I will praise You, O Lord, with ALL my heart!

Go to a room where you can have privacy and no distractions.

Play your favorite praise cd.

Take a moment to lift up everything that may be filling your heart to distraction so that you may worship Him with all your heart. This is a time to praise Him for what He has done, not a time to lament the circumstances you may be challenged with.

I will tell of all Your marvelous works.

Ask God to remind you of all that He has done for you and in you.

Review journaling notes you may have and make a list of what God has done for you and in you! It is most important to reflect on what God has done 'in' you. This is the most important work of God in our lives.

Now list them and repeat them out loud.

I will be glad and rejoice in You.

Take time to personally thank God for all that He has done. From the cross, to your sanctification, to provisions and even life lessons, thank Him for loving you so much that He cared to do it all for you.

I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Sing a song of praise. Sing along with the music you have playing or sing your own song! Rejoice! Be glad!

This is a time to celebrate with loud words of praise and thanksgiving. Lift your hands and praise Him.

As you meditate on this Psalm, know that the words Most High used in this Psalm are ‘elyon’ in the original Hebrew. This is the name of God that designates Him as the sovereign ruler of all the universe. We are called to praise the name of God because He is creator of all things and in control of all things. This is the God that we bow down and worship today!

Our recipe today is for Heart Felt Praise and Worship

The ingredients are from Psalm 9:1-2

The directions are to set aside a time of heartfelt devotion; a private act of worship praising El Elyon for who He is; God Most High.

PRAYER:
El Elyon! God Most High! I praise you with all my heart. I do not praise You because I have a perfect life, or all the provisions I could ever need. I praise You because of who You are; creator of the universe and all that is in it, on it and above it. You reign above all and I submit to Your dominion. I praise You because You call me to Your table so that I may be still, listen and know that You are God. I praise You because of the work You have done in me to make me more of a reflection of Your glory. And I praise You for the work You will continue to do in me. I praise You Lord for the unfailing love You showed on the cross. I rejoice that I was able to choose mercy over justice. I rejoice in the knowledge of who You are in my life and the power I can claim through the gift of Your Holy Spirit. I am glad to walk in the rutted paths You lay before me and find true happiness in Your plans for me. I rejoice that I can trust You in ways that I cannot understand and tell the world of Your marvelous works. You are God Most High and my heart sings praises to Your name, Elyon! I come to You in the name of my precious Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

God Bless and Keep You,