Worship & Praise Part 1: Landscape

It was approximately 20 years ago when I first asked a pastor how do I pray? When I asked the question, I was recently saved and I didn’t know much about praying. I only would recite prayers, listen to gospel songs, and read The Bible. However, from my upbringing and sticking to my ritualistic routine, I knew the Lord but something still felt missing. Hence, I asked the question—How do I pray? As time moved on, and I grew in my walk with Christ, I realized it was the worship and praise piece that was missing.

As my journey continued, I started to watch videos on the topic of worship and praise. I took bits and pieces of what I enjoyed from the messages and made it a part of my routine; I made it my own. Now, I am at a place where I can share my process in hopes that you will take what works for you and apply it to your walk in Christ Jesus.

The Landscape

Starting your time of worship and praise begins with a mind and heart posture. As the word says, in Colossians 3:2 NASB: "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." In other words, you start with bringing your thoughts in alignment with His goodness. Bring to remembrance the things He brought you out of or certain events that you know only God could have orchestrated. When you do this, your heart automatically responds; your heart becomes full of thanks. All of a sudden, this heart-mind see-saw pattern begins going back and forth—good thoughts lead to “heart changes” then “heart changes” to more good thoughts.

Some of my good thoughts include Jesus dying on the cross for me. Yes, I try to put myself in His shoes and imagine what it was like being nailed on the cross. You may ask, How is that a good thought? Well, without the act of Him dying on the cross for us we would not have eternal life. The thought that he died so that we would have a chance to be a joint heir with Him makes me fall in love over and over with His goodness and His mercy. My heart responds and I become full of thanks and joy.

I also imagine Him sitting on a throne at the right hand of the Heavenly Father. I see Him with all power, control, and authority over everything that is happening in this world. The heart responds. I become thankful that God is in control. According to His word in Isaiah 55:8-9 it is written, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (ESV).

What about thinking of his vast love for us? If you need a reminder of his great love for you, listen here: https://youtu.be/xVHV8SGhc0Q

I encourage you to practice this heart-mind posture. Feel free to play some of your favorite Christian music in the background. It places you in a different landscape with the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. It’s such a wonderful feeling. You may even ask yourself, How come I haven’t done this already? or Why haven’t I done this more often? Some use this exercise to meditate on the word of God by finding scripture that brings their heart to a place of thanks and praise.

You can also listen to Psalms to find the right scripture that pierces your heart. Here is a link to some soft spoken scripture: https://youtu.be/zRG2q_tXGQs

This is the first of a 3 part series on how to incorporate worship and praise into your prayer life.

Feel free to Like, Comment, Subscribe, Share and Add the above videos to a Playlist on YouTube to keep them in a safe place for future prayer sessions.