I recently began reading a short devotional book called "Facedown" by Matt Redman. It captures a lot of ideas that I think God has been stirring in my heart for a while. It occurs to me that even though this book is several years old, the messages so far regarding worship are extremely relevant to me, to Christ's Church, and probably to much of the church throughout North America and beyond.
In some ways the title says it all, "Facedown." When was the last time you were face down before the One and only Holy, Awesome, Merciful, Loving, Almighty, (there aren't enough adjectives to describe Him) God of the Universe? My hope is that some would respond, "oh, just this morning." However, I have a feeling that a lot of us haven't found ourselves in that place in quite some time or possibly ever. Before I go any further, please hear me - I'm not trying to attack anybody's current prayer life or corporate worship postures, or have a holier than thou attitude. Like I said, the thoughts in this book are definitely convicting and applicable to my prayer/worship life, but I'm sure I'm not alone. Since we're on this journey together my hope is that we can think and pray about these ideas, truths and practices and wait expectantly to see how God will move in our midst as we seek to worship Him in spirit and truth. After all, it is all about Him.
Matt makes a strong point in chapter 1 that, "Every posture in worship says something of both the worshiper and the One being gloried in...When it comes to expressing our worship, what we do on the outside is a reflection of what's taking place on the inside."
I think that's enough to start a conversation right there. Do you agree with these statements? Disagree? What postures of worship do you take or have you seen? What do they say about the worshiper and the one being worshiped?
6 comments:
WOW! Great Blog! Love the layout! And I love that you put up Paul Baloche "in your ipod" so I don't have to ask you again what the title is. And I love that it's all "Jesse" music on the right! And, I love the first post! Lots of things for me to think about! And, I love that you have the Tara Leigh concert listed so I can put that on my calendar! And, And, And......I'll be adding to your hits many times a day! Haha! :)
I've been thinking about this since you first mentioned it a while back. Now I have to put my thoughts into action. I know that posture does make a difference for me.
I think it's funny how you mention that the book is several years old, but still relevant (or should I say germane :P) to you. If the book speaks truth it doesn't matter the age... especially if we are talking about worshipping our Creator.
I find that it is so difficult to grasp the fullness of His being and I don't fall face down as I should... I think that society has down played His Glory so much that sometimes I have a difficult time remembering how indebted I am... and how Glorious He is. My prayer is that He fills me with that understanding everyday... and I come to let myself accept it.
Love ~G
While I agree that body language can speak louder than words, I wonder if that is true when speaking to the creator GOD of the universe. HE created us and knows our words before they pass our tongue, so perhaps HE knows what is in our heart despite our body position.
If position is important, why doesn't CCA have kneelers built into the back of each chair? Or a alter rail where kneeling can be done?
If position is important during worship, how are you going to convey this to the body? or is only important in the blogosphere?
The Godly Carmudgeon
Well this posting is the beginning of trying to get people in the body to start thinking about it. There has been discussion amongst the worship of leaders of trying to encourage more of an attitude of reverence and worship posture. I will definitely be sharing thoughts from this book and the scriptures in the future and inviting people to incorporate kneeling and bowing down into their congregational and personal worship and prayer life.
I'm not sure why we don't have kneelers and things of that nature at CCA, I've never actually used one and I've bowed down many a times :) Though I can understand why people have them, it can get a little uncomfortable after a while sometimes.
Body language IS important, but the heart is really what matters. Being led by men to kneel, bow down, or prostrate yourself doesn't matter a whit to God if your heart is not humbled. In the Bible, everyone who sees God falls as if dead, not because of any emotional response, but because they see their own uncleanliness before the Lord! Bringing God's people to an understanding that to worship is to approach the Throne of the Almighty God should yield proper heart attitudes in those that belong to Him.
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