The Glorious Presence

When Solomon finished praying, fire flashed down from heaven and burned up the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple. The priests could not enter the Temple of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord filled it. When all the people of Israel saw the fire coming down and the glorious presence of the Lord filling the Temple, they fell face down on the ground and worshipped and praised the Lord, saying, “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!” - 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 (NLT)

I feel closest to God in worship. There's something about the act of musical worship that makes it easier for me to connect with God, whether that's the background noise of music, meditating on the words (often scripture), or simply the time it allows me to focus on God. Whatever it is, worship helps me pray and prayer is when God speaks to me. I've been thinking recently about Solomon's Temple, specifically about the reaction of the people of Israel when they saw the fire and God's presence filling the Temple - they fell face down on the ground and worshipped Him.  God's spirit fell because Solomon prayed, and the people of Israel worshipped because His spirit filled the Temple. Praying and worshipping go hand in hand and they work in harmony (get it?) with each other. We're so blessed because we don't require a temple, we're the temples, and the Holy Spirit lives inside us, but we still  need to set aside the time to pray and worship. I'm a busy little bee so I really struggle with this and don't even always get the chance on a Sunday morning, but I know  I need to leave more time for worship because that's when "the stuff" happens! I need to shake up my comfortable routine because God is speaking and moving, He just needs more space.

I want to end with an invitation for you to join me in a challenge: this week, set aside some time to worship outside of your normal prayer behaviour. Entwine worship with prayer. Pray and worship and listen and bask in the glorious presence of God.