Do you worship during your worship?

People often ask me as a pastor for advice, "how do I make my daily devotional more meaningful?"  They tell me that they feel really bad but they almost dread their personal time with God because it has become very routine and stale.  A perfunctory prayer for guidance, protection of family members and a celestial to-do list is followed by a quick bible verse, a page out of the devotional or scan through the day's Sabbath school lesson.  "But something is missing", they say.

What's missing from your worship is just that...worship.  It's not that there is anything wrong with what is already there, but if our time with God does not include all the aspects of a relationship with Him, including worship, it will eventually become flat and lifeless.  And by worship I don't mean thanking God for His blessings, answered prayers and the like.  That's different, and many who are unsatisfied with their worship do thank God as part of their prayers.

But thanksgiving and worship are two very different things.  Worship and adoration are about who God is, where thanksgiving is about what He has done.  We need to look comprehensively at our relationship with God and see beyond an intellectual study followed by a quick review of transactions requests past and present.  There is a spiritual need in all of us to praise God for who He is and recognize our place as His loving, grateful and submissive subjects.

So maybe if you are in the same spot as those who have spoken to me let me make a few suggestions and you can take whatever works for you.  Try praising God in your prayers.  I use the ACTS format for prayers a lot and the A stands for adoration.  Simply give God the praise for being a great, wonderful, powerful, merciful, gracious, generous, loving creator.  If you have the space and time, try singing a hymn of praise as part of your worship.  What I do is put on a song of praise on the stereo or computer while I pray and hum/sing my praises.  (Youtube has lots of wonderful worship music.)  Find what works for you.  Each person praises God differently.  Just make sure you worship in your worship.