Biblical Worship

One of the important elements in the corporate worship service is prayer.  Other than songs that express our heart cry to the Lord and time spent reading and preaching His Word, prayer is one of the main ways we seek the Lord in the worship time.  If we were to prioritize the elements of our worship service, I think many would say that prayer should be one of the top priorities in the worship service.  But when we look at how our time is spent in worship, we might come to the conclusion that prayer in worship is very low on the list because we are actually spending so little time in prayer in the corporate worship service.

In his book Return to Worship, Ron Owens observed that in many parts of the world where he has traveled, prayer had a prominent role in the worship service.  Owens asks us to consider this question:  “Is my church a house of prayer?”  He shares that in an informal survey he conducted while visiting churches in the states, “four out of five churches spent more time in welcoming the visitors in a service than in all the praying combined.  Two out of the five of these same churches spent more time making the announcements than they did in prayer…. Might a lack of prayer be the major reason that, in spite of having better programs than ever before, in spite of having bigger and fancier buildings than ever, in spite of there never before being so many megachurches, we are making less impact on society than ever before? Could prayerlessness be the reason the darkness in our land is becoming increasingly dark? Could it be that the prayerlessness of our churches is why so many are powerless?”  (93-94)

Here are some suggestions Owens makes to encourage prayer in the worship service:

1.  Help the people to break their fear of praying in public.  Teaching the people to “pray will take wisdom, time, instruction, and patience, but it can and must be done if we are really to become the people God desires us to be.” (96)

2.  In addition to the normal prayer times in the service, “consider setting a block of time aside in each worship service to have one or two people pray.”

3.  Notify people in advance to ask them to pray so they can prepare.

4.  Teach the people “how to use Scripture in their prayers - praying back to God what He has said and promised.”

5.  “Let them know it is not offensive to the Lord to make notes of what they want to pray about.”

6.  “Think about prayerfully preparing a prayer for your people to pray, giving them the words they need to say to God.”

Owens says ”if it is time to worship, it is time to pray.”  I think he is on target.  We need to give a priority to prayer in our worship services and teach our people the importance of prayer and how to pray.  How much time does your church spend in corporate prayer in a Sunday morning service?  Is there more time spent in announcements?

I would encourage you to read Owen’s book, Return to Worship (1999, Broadman and Holman, ISBN 0-8054-1888-1).

Rory Noland in his book, Heart of the Artist, (Zondervan, ISBN 0-310-22471-3) discusses the difference between those who volunteer out of obligation to serve in the church and those who feel called by God to serve.  Noland says “that there is a deeper level of commitment, joy, and reward with those who know their calling is from God.”  He then lists differences between volunteers and those called of God: 

1.  Volunteers see their involvement at church as community service, but people called of God see it as ministry.

2.  Volunteers whine about what it’s going to cost to serve, but people called are committed to serving.

3.  Volunteers shrink back from resolving relational conflict, but people called of God seek to resolve relational conflict for the sake of unity in the church.

4.  Volunteers look upon rehearsal as another commitment they’re obligated to fulfill, but people called of God look forward to rehearsal as another opportunity to be used by God.

5.  Volunteers do no outside practicing or preparation, but people who are called of God come to rehearsals and a performance as prepared as possible. 

6.  Volunteers are not open to constructive criticism; they get defensive about it.  But people called of God are grateful for feedback because they want to be the best they can be.

7.  Volunteers feel threatened by the talent of others, but people called of God praise Him for distributing gifts and talents as He chooses.

8.  Volunteers want to quit at the first sign of adversity or discouragement, but people called of God dig in and persevere.

9.  Volunteers find their main source of fulfillment in their talents and abilities, but people called of God know that being used of God is the most fulfilling thing you can do with your life.

10.  Volunteers can’t handle being put in situations in which they’re going to be stretched, but people called of God respond to God’s call with humble dependence on Him.

Noland summarizes by saying that the difference between volunteering and being called of God is that “someone who has that sense of calling from God is more ministry minded. God never intended ministry to be the responsibility of the chosen few who do ‘full-time Christian work.’  God has equipped all believers to do the work of ministry.”  (Ephesians 4:11-12)  (taken from The Heart of the Artist, 70-74)

As worship leaders we need to disciple our musical teams to understand these differences.  It is a privilege to serve on a musical team that weekly has the honor to lead the Body of Christ in the praises of God who alone is worthy of glory and honor and praise! 

The Apostle Paul dwells on the topic of unity in the Body of Christ in his epistles.  Issues over music style (what instruments to use, what songs to sing) often bring division to the church. It would be interesting to know how many churches have split over this issue - an issue that is not even theological, but really just a matter of personal preference.  Here are some thoughts to ponder when musical style questions bring division:

1.  Determine that the church will not be divided over issues which the Bible does not make an issue.  Let us determine that if we are going to disagree over an issue, we must first decide it is an issue worth disagreeing over.

2.  Determine to teach on the biblical meaning of worship (music does not equal worship).

3.  Young people should defer to older people and older people should defer to younger people.  Always search our hearts for evidence of selfishness.  Honor the preferences of others as much as possible.  Resolve that if anyone is to be offended over a matter of ‘taste’ it should be us rather than someone else.

4.  We must communicate to a younger generation without abandoning our elders in church.

5.  If changes are necessary, make slow changes and teach the principle of deference as you go. 

6.  Ground musical style issues on biblical principles (such as Ephesians 4:1-5, Romans 14)

7.  The mature worshiper can worship in many different musical styles where the Gospel is being proclaimed.

John Frame in his book Worship in Spirit and Truth states:

We are a variety of people of differing backgrounds, differing ethnic backgrounds, language, gender, gifts, ages.  The church must come together in its diversity to become united in worship.  In worship we praise God with one voice, confess the same truth, and hear the same Word.  We recognize one Lord, one faith and one baptism.

Worship leaders, strive to help your congregation to be unified in their worship of the one true Almighty God!

Read Part 1 of this discussion on Determining a Music Style in your church:  http://biblicalworship.com/?p=319

Read some other worship thoughts from John Frame’s book:  http://biblicalworship.com/?p=158