Pray:
Ask God to orient or reorient you to Himself. Confess any known sin. Thank Him for His forgiveness. Be still and reflect on Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind to God’s Word. Pray for others in your life that they, too, would know and love God today.
Read:
Psalm 100: 1-5
“1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. 5 For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Understand:
Worship is not complicated; it’s not a list of things we’ve got to do or places we’ve got to go. It’s simply turning our thoughts to God. Notice that the words of the psalm are not complicated. The psalmist is reciting facts about God and these words lead to wonder. It fills our hearts with joy. This is how it should be! We’re to praise Him because of who He is…He is our Lord, the Creator, and Shepherd!
Apply:
As New Testament believers, we have a lot of reasons to “shout for joy to the Lord.” One of my favorite passages is John 15:1-17. It’s the passage where Jesus says that He is the true vine: we’re to remain in Him and bear fruit that brings glory to God the Father. He tells us to remain in His love just as He has remained in the Father’s love. Then, in verse 11 Jesus says, “I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” Isn’t that good news…news worth shouting about!
Take a moment and think about God’s goodness to you. Think about Jesus on Mount Calvary. Think about all His mighty deeds He has done on your behalf. Think about all the ways He’s shown His kindness toward you. You know what you’re doing when thinking about these things? You’re worshiping Him!
“Shout for joy to the LORD… worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs” and lift your praise to the One who is worthy of all praise!
Live:
(Personalize this prayer today; make it specific to the circumstances that face you.)
Ask God to lead you through His Spirit as you go through your day. Ask Him to bring to mind the truth of the gospel and its implications for what you will encounter today. Tell Him “Yes” to His will and ask Him for His power and protection to live this “yes.” Ask God to create and reveal opportunities to proclaim the good news today. KEEP PRAYING THROUGHOUT YOUR DAY.