Worshiping without asking for anything: three minutes to say who he is

Almost all our prayers contain a request, even a discreet one: help, peace, a decision. That is natural, and God loves it when we talk to him about what concerns us. But there is another form of prayer, a rarer one: speaking to him without expecting anything, simply for who he is. This quest invites you to try three minutes of worship.

What it looks like in your day

Worship is not an emotion to produce, it is attention to direct. Here is a method in three one-minute steps:

First minute: come. Settle in, close your eyes or fix your gaze on one point. Simply say: "Lord, I come before you, asking for nothing." If a request pops up in your mind, make a mental note of it and set it aside: you will bring it afterward.

Second minute: contemplate. Choose one reality about God and look at it. His greatness (he created the immensity of the sky), his holiness (he is pure, without a shadow), his nearness (he knows your name). Say it quietly: "You are great. You are holy. You are here."

Third minute: be silent. Stay quiet, the way you would in front of someone very great whom you admire. You can bow, open your hands, kneel. The body helps the mind understand.

If distractions come, that is normal. Gently bring your attention back to the one you are contemplating. If you have no inspiration, slowly read a verse of worship and let it speak.

To help you not slide toward asking, begin your time of prayer with these three minutes before anything else: speaking about him first changes the order of priorities.

If you are in a hurry, one minute is enough. If you are shy, this is a prayer without difficult words. If you are a beginner, don't try to feel anything: worship is first of all an act of recognition.

What the Bible says

Psalm 29 opens with a call to give glory:

“A Psalm of David. Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”

"Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name": glory is not something we hand to God as a gift, it is due to him, because it already belongs to him. To worship is to acknowledge what is true. The prophet Isaiah sees the Lord in the temple:

“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.”

His reaction is not to ask, but to be overwhelmed. The seraphim cry "Holy, holy, holy": God's holiness is spoken three times, a sign of fullness. Finally, Jesus explains what the Father is looking for:

“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

He seeks worshipers who worship "in spirit and in truth": sincere, genuine, turned toward him. Worship is not a ritual, it is a relationship.

Pitfalls to avoid

Turning worship into a disguised request. "You are powerful, so give me this" mixes everything up. Keep your requests for afterward.

Chasing an experience. Some days you will feel nothing. Worship does not depend on your emotional state but on the worth of the one you worship.

Reciting titles without thinking. "You are great, you are holy" said on autopilot loses its meaning. Take the time to look at what it means.

Feeling guilty for thinking about your worries. Tell God about them in one sentence, then come back to him. He is not offended.

Limiting yourself to these three minutes. This time is a beginning: worship can also be lived out at work, on a walk, in nature.

Today, take three minutes. Come, contemplate, be silent, and ask for nothing.