Time of Preparation
Begin by taking inventory of your surroundings. Are things in your vicinity conducive to a time of personal worship? Are there any changes or adjustments (turning off tech, making yourself comfortable) you need to make before you begin?
When you are ready, take a moment to sit in silence and prepare your heart for worship. Ask God to clear away any distractions that might keep you from being truly present in this moment.
After some time of silence, listen to this simple song of preparation that reminds us that Jesus invites us to come to him just as we are in order to receive just what we need.
SONG OF PREPARATION: Come All Who are Weary (lyrics here)
Encounter With God
In this first movement, we simply seek to see God for who He is: the One worthy of worship.
”Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
—Psalm 34:8 (NIV)
It is because of God’s goodness that we can take refuge in him. Because he is good, we can trust him. Because he is good, we can bring everything to him without fear. He will not turn away his own. When we are in our place of deepest need, God meets us with his all-sufficient goodness.
Whatever needs you bring to God today, before you name them in his presence…spend time in his presence. Spend time with the one who is faithful, holy, righteous, wonderful, and merciful.
Take refuge in him. You will see that he is good.
SONG OF ENCOUNTER: Wonderful, Merciful Savior (lyrics here)
Confession
In this second movement, we simply see ourselves for who we are: people who need God.
“Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.”
—Joel 2:13 (NIV)
In this verse the prophet Joel encourages us to avoid outward displays of brokenness that reflect our desire to be seen, and instead to embrace an inner honesty that acknowledges the fullness of our need before God. Jesus echoes these words in Matthew chapter 6 when he instructs his followers to pray and fast in secret rather than in view of others, saying God will see “what is done in secret.”
Coming to God in confession is a private, intimate act. It is a bearing of our soul before the one who created our soul. He knows what we’re going to say, but he also knows that until we say it we are not completely free of its hold on us. We do not need to hold back, indeed we do so at a very great cost.
We can return. We can rend our hearts. We can be open about the entirety of our sin and need because the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
How we need him! Spend a few moments in silent prayer before listening to the song below. Offer to God your need for forgiveness, mercy, grace, and restoration.
SONG OF ENCOUNTER: I Need Thee (lyrics here)
Assurance
In this third movement, we receive the good news of the gospel: we are forgiven.
“Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
—Hebrews 4:16 (NRSVUE)
As we rest in the assurance of God’s grace and receive the gift of cleansing and restoration, you’re invited to sit with this ancient prayer from the islands of Scotland. Read each line slowly and intentionally. Let this prayer remind you of what God has done, and is doing, for you, in you, and through you.
I am bending my knee
In the eye of the Father who created me,
In the eye of the Son who purchased me,
In the eye of the Spirit who cleansed me,
In friendship and affection.
Through Your own Anointed One, O God,
Bestow upon us fullness in our need,
Love towards God,
The affection of God,
The smile of God,
The wisdom of God,
The grace of God,
The fear of God,
And the will of God
To do on the world of the Three,
As angels and saints
Do in heaven;
Each shade and light,
Each day and night,
Each time in kindness,
Give Thou us Thy Spirit.
Commission
In this final movement, we are encouraged and equipped for the work God would have us do.
“Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
—John 4:13-14 (NKJV)
There is never a point in our Christian walk where we “arrive.” At least not in this life. One day we will find ourselves in the presence of the one who has created, redeemed, and sustained us. But until that day, the journey of receiving what we need from God is an experience of daily manna and daily living water.
The prophet Isaiah reminds us, though, that the water and food for which we hunger is not one we receive by our striving and effort:
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.”
God’s gifts of sustaining grace are just that—grace. They are not earned. They are the product of abiding in his love on a daily basis.
Come all who are thirsty…draw close and learn to abide, for it is there we find our every need is met.
SONG OF COMMISSION: Abide (lyrics here)
Benediction
“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”
—Jude 24-25 (NIV)