Why do we do what we do in our worship, prayers and church services? Where are our hearts when we do these things? God certainly sees our hearts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He knows if our spirit is engaged with Him or not at any given moment. I know when I spend time in prayer I get easily distracted. It isn't uncommon for some concern to pop into my head, or I remember that I need to do something or call someone. I might think I need to leave by 9:00 so I can stop and get gas on my way to my 10:00 service at church and be early like I planned. Oooops...wasn't I just praying for my nieces and nephew? We all get distracted! But the question is...was our heart engaged with God's heart while we were praying, distraction or not? Or was I just praying for my nieces and nephew out of habit. I had to examine myself about my prayer time. I have been pretty much praying the same thing for them over the past 4 months or so. I wasn't asking God what He wanted me to pray for them. It wasn't that I wasn't engaged in sincere prayer and seeking God, it was that I wasn't seeking what God wanted for them. My engagement with God was at a certain level but not progressing deeper as it should. I was beginning to engage in what my Freedom 2 Class on Thursday evenings covered this last week. A "Religious Form".
The manual for the Freedom 2 class I am taking says “the degree to which our activity is based on our own judgment or program instead of humble, faith-filled, dependence on Jesus is the degree to which the activity becomes a religious form. It is action devoid of any real heart connection.”
The scripture used is 2 Timothy 3:1-51) But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2) For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3) heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4) treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5) having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
I was praying out of habit, not a bad thing really. I was feeling like it was alright to pray in the same way every time, with my personal concerns for the people in my life, not asking God about His desires for them. I was feeling somewhat guilty if something interfered with that prayer time and I didn't pray that day. It's not just prayers that can become a form of religion. A friend related that she found she sang praise and worship songs because she liked the music, not engaging her heart in actual praise and worship. How often do we sing on Sunday mornings, enjoying the music but our mind is far off on something else? Does it bother us that our heart isn't engaged with Jesus heart when we worship? It happens to me too.
Churches can get into "religious forms" as well. "We always sing 3 songs before we take an offering and then somebody reads scripture and someone else prays. You have a testimony? Well it'll have to wait until testimony Sunday in 3 weeks." Not that having an order of service is wrong, but are we engaging God in it? Do we consider God has something else for this Sunday morning a little bit different? I know some will be thinking about the liturgy in liturgical churches. What about all those written prayers and readings? Sure, it is easier for those to become religious forms than the more spontaneous prayers in many protestant churches. Anyone saying the liturgy and praying in a liturgical church can make those things come from their deep heart as offerings to Jesus, engaging Him fully. It isn't "what" we say or do that engages God, It is our heart, which no man can judge or see.
The Freedom 2 manuel is authored by Brian Brennt and Mike Riches
