Devotional Worship focuses on worshipping and loving Jesus corporately and in a personal way. We encourage everyone in the House to be actively engaged in worship and prayer. You may do this by singing along with the worship songs, singing spontaneously from your heart or from Scripture, praying in the spirit, etc. Of course you always have the option to just close your eyes and engage privately with the Lord. You may also use this time to read the Bible privately.
The following are some of the things you can do during the time of devotional worship:
WORSHIP – The primary purpose of devotional worship is to worship and minister to God. Therefore, we try to flow along with the worship leader and engage our hearts in worship unto the Lord.
READ SCRIPTURE – Open up the Bible and read whatever portion of Scripture that will draw you closer to God in intimacy as you dwell in His presence.
MEDITATE ON THE WORD OF GOD – Take time to meditate on a specific portion of scripture and allow the Holy Spirit to grant you fresh revelation and new understanding to that portion of Scripture.
LISTEN TO HIS VOICE AND SEEK HIS FACE – Take time to listen to His voice and allow the Lord to speak to you. Seek the face of the Lord like David beheld the face of God in the Tabernacle of David (Psalm 27:4).
PRAY AND INTERCEDE – You can also take this time to pray and intercede for whatever burden is upon your heart. Please be sensitive to those around you by not praying too loudly.
ENJOY HIM, SOAK IN HIS PRESENCE AND RECEIVE HIS LOVE – Psalm 84:1 – 2 says, “How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” Devotional worship is what Psalm 84:1 – 4 is all about. I know that this expression of worship is a relatively new paradigm for many of us. I’d like to encourage you to press in and engage with the Lord and in due time, you will begin to appreciate it more. Don’t be too quick to say that this is not for you. You will be surprised by God.
In all of this, we want to do these things with the attitude of worshipping, watching and waiting on the Lord:
WORSHIP (ISAIAH 66:1) – As the people of God, we are given two specific roles: kings and priests (Rev. 1:6, 4:10). The role of “king” refers specifically to the Great Commission where we reach out to the nations for the Lord and establish the Kingdom of God all over the earth. The role of “priest” refers specifically to ministry unto the Lord through worship and intercession. Isaiah 66:1 is the very cry of God’s heart for the people of God to minister unto Him. One of the main focuses of devotional worship is to “make God happy!” The focus is not how we feel during worship but how God feels! God is truly worthy to receive all glory, honor and power. When God is truly worshipped, something will begin to change – our heart, our circumstances, our nation, etc.
WATCH (MATTHEW 25:13) – In Matthew 25:1–13, our Lord Jesus Christ specifically teaches us to be like the 5 wise virgins. He exhorts us to start acquiring “oil” so that we will have confidence in Him during the Last Days. He concludes the parable by asking us to WATCH. The word “watch” implies the cultivating of our intimate walk with the Lord. Another purpose of devotional worship is to “watch” and take time to develop intimacy with Him by being in His presence. David understood and knew the heart of God by learning to GAZE upon the beauty of the LORD. Similarly, this is a time of “watching” and gazing upon the LORD.
WAIT (ISAIAH 40:27–31) – One Thing Ministries is committed to raising up forerunners who will be the VOICE of God in the Last Days so that we can be a light to the world in troubled times. Isaiah 40:28–31 describes one of the keys in preparing to be a forerunner – WAIT! Isaiah 40 is a powerful passage that describes the forerunner in the Last Days. Verses 1–5 talk about the mandate of a forerunner. Verses 6–26 lay out the message that a forerunner will proclaim. Verses 27–31 teach about the preparation of a forerunner. To be a forerunner, we need to learn to wait before the Lord – to hear His voice and to receive a message from Him so that we will be a VOICE and not simply an ECHO! It is in the midst of waiting that we will be strengthened by the LORD. Also, we will never be able to receive high levels of revelation if we are always and constantly on the move. Many people express their desire to hear God clearly and have a direct “hotline” to God. Few of us can hear Him clearly unless we bother to wait before Him and learn to sharpen our senses to His voice. It is in waiting that we will grow in our sensitivity to the voice of God.
