This Sunday we will be concluding our series; Experience Worship. It is my hope that even though the series is ending, we will be able to continue to worship in new and authentic ways… not just on Sunday mornings, but every day, in all circumstances.
This week we will look at how prayer and worship are related.
If my research is correct, the longest prayer in the Old Testament is found in Nehemiah chapter 9, specifically verses five to thirty-eight. The longest prayer in the New Testament is found in John chapter seventeen, a mere 26 verses.
As school is coming to an end, please accept this homework assignment this week. Can we read those two prayers?
If you read at an average pace, the Nehemiah prayer should take around seven minutes and the Jesus’ prayer in John chapter seventeen should take less than that.
Here are some of my questions as I sit with these prayers and how they are connected to worship…
Nehemiah’s prayer…
This prayer is retelling Israel’s history. Why would remembering the past be a part of prayer and how is that connected to worship?
What does this prayer tell us about the balance between; praising God, confessing sin, and asking for help?
Do you notice this prayer consistently uses “we” and “our” instead of ”I”?
What does it mean to confess sins that you didn’t personally commit?
What qualities of God are emphasized throughout this prayer?
This prayer is very honest, one might even say blunt, about failure. Why is that kind of honesty important in our worship?
In what way is this prayer an act of worship, not just confession?
How does remembering God’s actions lead to praise, even in the middle of failure?
Why is it important that their prayer is rooted in their shared story?
What does it mean to respond to God not just with words, but with changed lives?
Jesus’ Prayer…
What does it mean to be in the world but not of the world?
What does “sanctify them in the truth” actually look like in real life?
What does it mean to be sent in the same way Jesus was sent?
How do you interpret verse 26? What would that look like if it were true in our church family?
Do we know God in the way that Jesus describes?
Let’s talk about it on Sunday.
~ Pastor Dustin
