Preparing your heart for worship the day before: ten minutes of prayer and reading
Many people arrive at worship as if for an appointment made at the last minute: in a hurry, their mind elsewhere, still full of the week's worries. Then they complain that they feel nothing. This weekly quest invites you to prepare your heart the day before: ten minutes of prayer, and reading the text that will be preached, if you know it.
What it looks like in your day
Choose the moment. Saturday evening, very early Sunday morning, or Friday. Ten quiet minutes.
Read the text, if you know it. If your church announces Sunday's passage, read it. Once, slowly, to get familiar with it. Note a question or a word that stops you.
Pray for four things:
- For yourself. That your heart be available, that you leave your worries behind, that you really listen. “Lord, prepare my heart to meet you tomorrow.”
- For those who serve. The preacher, the worship team, the welcomers, those who will look after the children.
- For those who will come. Specific people: a friend you invited, someone who is hesitating, someone who is ill.
- For the message. That the Word be received and lived out.
Settle what can be settled. An unresolved quarrel with someone from church? A grudge? Be reconciled before you come, as Jesus says.
Prepare the practical side. Your outfit, your arrival time, your bag with your Bible. Less stress, to welcome more.
Sleep properly. Going to bed at a reasonable hour helps you be available.
If you are short on time, five minutes are enough. If you are shy, this time prepares you for encounters that intimidate you. If you don't know the text, simply read a psalm, for example Psalm 84 or Psalm 122.
What the Bible says
Psalm 84 expresses the longing for God's presence:
“To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.”
“My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord”: the psalmist cannot wait to arrive. He describes a heart that is prepared, expectant, longing. This is what preparing your heart can produce. Ecclesiastes, for its part, gives a word of caution:
“Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.”
“Be not rash with thy mouth” before God: approach with attention and restraint, more to listen than to speak. And Jesus asks us to be reconciled before bringing our offering (Matthew 5:23-24): preparing for worship also involves the quality of our relationships.
Pitfalls to avoid
Turning preparation into an obligation. Ten minutes of prayer are worth more than an hour of guilt.
Arriving with unrealistic expectations. Preparation is not a guarantee of a great experience. It opens your heart, without promising emotions.
Preparing without forgiving. If you hold a grudge against someone at worship, the preparation remains incomplete.
Preparing while thinking of the preacher. Don't set yourself up as a judge. Prepare your own heart.
Doing it only once. It is regularity that changes your relationship with worship.
This week, prepare your heart the day before worship: ten minutes of prayer, reading the text, reconciliation if needed.