Sep 25, 2014
Yesterday I Needed an Explosion of Worship
An Explosion Of Worship
When I am discouraged, tempted, or lukewarm, it’s helpful to search my heart, discover pockets of unbelief, find promises to counter that unbelief, and pray over those promises until my faith is strengthened.
But sometimes instead of dealing with one unbelief at a time, I need to blow it all up with an explosion of worship.
Yesterday
That’s what I needed yesterday. To my shame, I have been falling into unbelief and discouragement because of some unanswered prayer.
So I have been praying over promises, setting my heart on various Scriptures, and fighting the fight of faith.
But I have not experienced much of the Spirit’s heart-changing work.
So yesterday I took more extreme measures. I grabbed the dynamite of Psalm 145, lit its fuse by praying for Spirit’s power, and then stuffed it into my heart by reading it over slowly and prayerfully and worshipfully.
The fuse burned as I spoke the truth of who God is –
3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.
It Worked
This didn’t happen immediately. It took a little while for the burning fuse to reach the dynamite.
But when it did, the dynamite of Psalm 145 blew up my stubborn unbelief.
Okay, it didn’t feel quite that dramatic. But I could tell that my heart was changed.
For the first time in a few days I was seeing, and feeling, the glory of God.
My unbelief was destroyed — because I saw God’s goodness in my unanswered prayer.
My discouragement lifted – because I knew God was orchestrating everything for my eternal joy in him.
My sin was crushed – because I wanted God and his glory more than anything.
God’s glory changes everything.
Try This
If you need an explosion of worship, grab the dynamite of God’s word. Light the fuse by asking for more of the Spirit’s work in your heart.
Then stuff your heart full of that dynamite by reading God’s word slowly, prayerfully, and worshipfully.
Continue this until the fuse of the Spirit hits the dynamite of the word, and the explosion of God’s glory destroys your unbelief.
If it doesn’t happen today, continue tomorrow. You’ve prayed, the fuse is burning, you are putting the dynamite in place – so the explosion will happen.
That’s what God promises, in Hosea 6:3, Romans 10:17, Jeremiah 29:13, John 4:13-14, John 6:35, John 7:37-38, and Galatians 3:5.
Trust him.
Comments? Questions?
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And here are some related posts you might find helpful –
- How God Strengthened My Faith
- How God Changed My Unfeeling Heart
- How to Get Out Of a Spiritual Funk
- Struggling? Here’s a Worship Video That Can Help
(Picture is from Microsoft Publisher clipart..)
Steve!
What to do if you’re crazily warped like me and it seems truth about God’s authority and greatness makes your heart recoil?! How do you get free?! How do you hate pride and love God and agree with his judgement when it feels you’ve lost your mind and justify sin and don’t see the beauty of the kingdom? Is there hope and help? If your mind even says you don’t want it–to not believe that lie and still cry out over all the evil my mind seems a steeped in?
Is there a promise I can pray over to bring me to repentance and mourning of sin and humility ?
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Romans 8:1
The sweetest words one could ever know…
I pray that God in His Rich, Rich Mercy would let you feel the weight of this truth!
To know I deserve eternal death, but to have God in His Grace take my sin, so that I may live… If you have trouble wanting this, only God can change a heart that is so harden… & He can!
Thank you Paul. Do you think The Lord would be willing to use the prayers of his people to hem me in and soften my heart? Please pray He won’t give me over to my thoughts and that He will heal my mind. That He will give new thoughts about how His life is better than anything. That He will come and crush the lies and thoughts in my mind and give me a great thirst for his righteousness everyday that is strong enough to enable me to disbelieve my mind. That Jesus and his salvation will be my great delight. That I’ll KNOW how undeserving I am and how wonderful life in Christ is. That nothing will keep me from Him! No pride or lies or sin or worldly desires. That He will grant repentance and great desire for Jesus to me!
K,
God is Sovereign, He chooses to whom He will show Mercy
“For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. Romans 9:15-16
And yet we are still completely accountable & responsible as to how we respond to God’s offer of forgiveness through the death of His son on the cross for sins & His resurrection from the dead.
If you truly desire forgiveness, He will surely grant you the new heart to live for him, it’s up to you, but you are dependent upon Him.
Oh, my mind is so clouded. Please pray I will truly desire forgiveness–that He will grant me even this as my greatest desire!
One of the most loving things Christ did while on earth, was to speak about the reality of hell, why, because it motivates us to desire forgiveness of our sins.
I think we gain glimpses of a living hell while here on earth, but they pale in comparison to the reality of eternal darkness that awaits those who reject Christ… something to think about.
Thank you Paul. Will you pray The Lord will help me live by the truth and not feelings? That He will grant me wisdom and strength and humility to do that and not think about hell through my fleshly mind but will open me to truth by his Spirit, if that makes sense?
K,
I’m not sure what your mind is telling you about hell, but Christ spoke of unbelievers being cast into the outer darkness. God’s word also tells us there is a tremendous heat that is associated with total blackness, along with moans & gnashing of teeth of tortured souls. So after a million years of complete darkness along with stifling heat, & the cries of tortured souls, you would have another million years after that, & so on into infinity.
Compare that reality to be in the presence of a loving Christ Jesus & being in the most Glorious place you could imagine multiplied by infinity because we can’t fathom how truly amazing heaven is.
So decide which you want, to me there is no comparison.
so well said