Thoughtful Worship

I was transfixed by a passage in 1 Corinthians yesterday, specifically Ch 14:10-20. The passage discusses the usefulness of speaking in tongues in worship, but that is not what captured me. What I fell asleep considering was verse 15:

"...I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind."

So often, we find ourselves in two camps: Those who interact with God full of emotion and those who interact with God on a very logical plane. I have noticed, sadly, a very judgemental attitude pointed at both points of view, usually from someone who holds the differing opinion. Our churches are often placed in one "camp" or another, based on these two ways of communicating with our Savior.

But this scripture and the surrounding passages tell us neither approach is fully correct. We are called to worship God with our spirits (emotionally) while being conscious of what we are doing and why we are doing it (using our minds). Approaching God completely caught up in the emotional aspects of worship is no more complete than approaching God solely through intellectual pursuits. Neither approach is wrong, but limiting our method of interaction with God limits our experience and understanding of this Great Redeemer whom we serve.

It also limits our ability to draw others into a closer relationship with Him. If what we do to worship God doesn't make sense, some will never understand. If what we do is without emotion, some will never recognize the healing and freedom they can experience in Christ.

We are called to pray emotionally and logically. We need to be thoughtful of how we approach our Sovereign God while fully enjoying our ability to come boldly to the Throne of Grace! We are to sing as though we are children at a choir recital, excited to show our Dad what we can do for Him. We need to consider the words we sing, too. Like my earthly Daddy always said, don't sing it if you don't mean it.

I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me, A sinner, condemned unclean.
How marvelous! How wonderful! And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful is my Savior's love for me!

Are you overwhelmed by the thoughts shared in this verse? If we sing it -and mean it- we can't help but get emotional over the whole thing!

It is great to know that, when it comes to worship, emotion and thought go hand-in-hand.