Cultivating a Thankful Spirit: Day Eighteen
When God reveals himself to us, we have no other choice but to recognize His power, His majesty, His wonder! This recognition naturally drives us to worship Him, like the angels in Heaven do before His throne. The Israelites used to design their entire worship experiences in a way that would focus all five of their senses upon the greatness of God, leaving no room for the distractions of daily life. We saw a similar system with Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet as he taught, while her sister focused on creating an environment that would be engaging for her attentive guests. Similarly, we should aim for our own worship times to be immersive opportunities, chances for us to concentrate wholly on what God has done, is doing, and promises to do.
Worship music is an important aspect of my quiet times because of its ability to focus my attention on God alone. When I’m singing along with one of my favorite songs, it doesn’t matter how much the tasks of my day may try to distract me; the act of singing forces me to re-focus on what the lyrics are actually saying. While my voice echoes these lyrics, the simple act of repeating their truths reminds me of my own knowledge of God’s truths. These are some of my favorites:
- “The Heart of Worship” — Matt Redman
- “Lord You are Good” — Israel & New Breed
- “Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)” — Chris Tomlin
- “Hosanna” — Hillsong Worship
- “Raise a Hallelujah” — Bethel Music
- “This is Amazing Grace” — Phil Wickham
What are some songs you use to focus your attention on God during your worship times?
— Hannah
This Small Group 
One Response to “Cultivating a Thankful Spirit: Day Eighteen”
[…] Finally, Christian believers can worship in more ways than prayer and songs; service is a visible act of honoring God. Israelites performed their worship by sacrificing crops and animals in place of their own sins, creating another way for themselves and fellow believers to focus their attention on God. In the book of Luke, Martha models an updated form of serving God and serving others, namely by opening her home and creating an environment where her peers would be comfortable and attentive to Jesus’s teaching. Both the ancient Israelite sacrifices and the more recent acts of hospitality created environments that celebrate the wonder of God. This list includes worship songs that extol how great God is, helping singers glorify Him above all … […]
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