More Insight

Insight

(Dragonfly Ministries President, Mary Hamrick)

Intimate Worship

Intimacy in worship.  Worshiping God no matter where you are, who’s watching, or what people may think of you; worshiping Him with your heart, spirit, mind and soul. 

The Lord speaks directly to us throughout scripture in terms of how, when, and where to worship.

HOW?  God says we are to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”).  Psalm 51:17 states that we are to come to God with a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, humbling ourselves to God so that He can lift us up.   

WHEN:  Hebrews 13:15 says, “Let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name.”

WHERE:  Hosea 2:14 says, “I am going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her.”  This means He will draw us to Himself, to a quiet place in our spirit, so that we are alone with Him – free to love and worship Him. 

How is worship intimate?  To truly worship, your focus must be on God – on His love, His majesty, the beauty of who He is.  As you begin to sing, pray and worship your focus remains on God and your spirit is free to soar into a place of worship – free of distractions or worries; free of what others may think; free of how you may look or feel.  Because your heart and mind are stayed on God.

At a previous Dragonfly Ministries retreat, our worship leader asked us to close our eyes and listen to the music; she asked us to allow our minds to focus on God and she read the passage of scripture from 2 Samuel 6:16 which describes King David’s act of worship in leaping and dancing before the Lord.  Women began twirling and dancing before the Lord, allowing our spirits to worship without worrying about what others in the room were doing or what they might think of us … we truly experienced freedom in worship because we were intimately involved in loving and adoring our Father in Heaven.

There are two examples of intimate worship that will always be fresh to me because of the impression made on my heart of true, uninhibited worship.

The first example: At a Third Day concert years ago, I witnessed a most beautiful sight.  As the band led the crowd in worship, there was a man about 20 rows in front of me who was captured in worship to the King of Glory.  As the song ended and people began to take their seats, this man continued to stand with his arms and face lifted high, reaching to the sky.  I remember this man because he was perhaps 6’2” with an arm span about the same length as his height. From my seat, everything on stage was seen through the space between his two uplifted arms.  Oh that I could see all things in my life through a worshipful life and attitude of raised and worshipful arms.   I think of this man’s worship often and the sacrifice of pride that he made in a coliseum full of people, to worship the Father; uninhibited and unaware of the people around him.  It was a moment in time between he and the Father.  My life was greatly enriched by witnessing this act of intimate worship.

The second example happened at Gunpowder Baptist Church in Freeland, Maryland.  Our youth had returned from a mission trip and many of the young people came home with changed hearts and attitudes toward Christ.  As we gathered to hear testimonies of the mission trip, we stood to sing praises. (I arrived a little late, so I just slipped into the back row.)  During the chorus of one of the songs, we sang the words, “I’ll stand with arms high and heart abandoned; in awe of the one who gave it all.  I’ll stand, my soul Lord to you surrendered, all I have is yours” (Hillsong).  Many of the youth lifted their arms in worship as they sang these words from their renewed hearts.  (At times of worship, sometimes a voice within will tell us we will look stupid or appear fanatical if we raise our arms in worship; these young people had been freed from this lie and were worshipping God in truth.)   
As I worshiped and enjoyed the freedom of the moment, I noticed one young man who was singing, yet held tightly to the pew in front of him. I don’t know why I was observing this young man, except that I could tell he was fighting back his desire to worship, and I was anxious to see him give the sacrifice of praise that the Bible speaks of in Hebrews 13:15.  On the last two choruses of the song, this young man lifted his arms as he gave into the freedom of worship.

Out of obedience, this young man set aside all pride and inhibitions and during this chorus, I believe I witnessed his spiritual heart-cry of sacrifice and surrender to God as he sang, “I’ll stand, with arms high and heart abandoned; in awe of the one who gave it all.  I’ll stand, my soul Lord, to you surrendered, all I have is yours.”  I could almost see God’s blessings pouring into the heart of this young man as he surrendered his heart to God.  When his arms went up in worship, it was such an intimate moment between he and God that I suddenly felt I had entered into a secret place and I sensed God implant on my heart, “this is Mine to behold, Mine to enjoy, Mine to see; it is between Me and my child, and you are not invited to share in this moment.”   So I closed my eyes so as not to interfere with the privacy of this spiritual and intimate moment between man and God.
 
Being able to witness moments of intimate worship like these are rare.  To see a person who has completely surrendered his heart to the Lord and will worship God, no matter his surroundings, is a life-changing experience.  Not only to the one who is worshiping, but to those around who observe.  Don’t allow yourself to be caught up in man’s opinion of who you are in Christ; rather, follow the example of these two men and worship God with an abandoned heart.  Not only will your life be changed, but lives around you will be impacted and changed as well.

I pray that all people, all ages, will continue to throw aside cares of the outside world and enter the world of spiritual intimacy with God so that they may be blessed with God’s presence and all that comes through Him when we give him the sacrifice of praise and worship that He has created us for.

Amen
Mary H.