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 some time 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.
Encounter With God
In this first movement, we simply seek to see God for who He is: the One worthy of worship.
“Exalt the Lord our God
and worship at his footstool;
he is holy.”
—Psalm 99:5 (NIV)
In artwork from the throne rooms of Ancient Near Eastern kings, footstools appear again and again—a place for the king to rest his feet while he ruled from his throne. It would have been undignified for a king's feet to touch the bare ground, so lifting them onto a footstool was itself a mark of honor. The king's feet resting on his footstool pictured his elevated status and his reign.
This is where you and I are invited to worship the Lord our God: at his footstool. At the most basic and central level, this is a reminder that we live under the reign of God—he is our heavenly King, worthy of all exaltation. But there's a second truth the footstool holds for us: it is the piece of furniture closest to the throne itself. So even as our worship celebrates the exalted majesty of God, the footstool reminds us that this One who is so far above and beyond us has invited us to draw near.
Exalt the Lord. Worship at his footstool.
SONG OF ENCOUNTER: Only A Holy God (lyrics here)