There are many forms of worship, all of which (supposedly) are to demonstrate the level of our faithfulness.
But worship doesn’t prove anything.
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For most religions, worship is a systemic process: you do this, then you do that, and you finish with these. In many religions music and singing is a preliminary requirement, then there’s reading prayers from a prayer book, but in the long run, worship can often become static.
As God says in Isaiah 29:13 and Ezekiel 33:31, we can end up just paying lip service to God because (as with human beings) when we do the same thing, over and over, it becomes rote.
I don’t think God wants rote, repetitive prayer; I believe God much prefers heartfelt prayer. And you can’t really pray from your heart when you are repeating a prayer from a prayer book, which everyone else is saying and which was written by someone else. Yeah, it probably was heartfelt from the author, but it ain’t your words, it ain’t your heart that is being opened, and I can’t see it being really effective.
In Matthew 6: 9-13, Yeshua tells us how to pray, but the words are not something he means for us to repeat, verbatim. Those words are OK, sure, but the prayer is not just a prayer- it is the template for ALL prayer!
It starts with honoring God and recognizing his power, then it goes to asking only for what we need today, representing our trust and faith in God to always provide for us. The scary part of this prayer is next, because we authorize God to not forgive us unless we forgive others; finally, we ask for divine protection and end, again, honoring God.
So, if we forget those exact words, but use the same process in every prayer we submit to the Lord- honor him, recognize his authority, ask only for today, convict ourselves to forgive others, request protection from evil, and end as we started by honoring God, then that prayer will have to come from the heart.
There are certain things I ask every morning when I pray (specifically for forgiveness), and although I often use the same words, they are never parroted (meaning just repeated without understanding). I try to ask for the same things in a different way, just to ensure that I am not being repetitive and offering static prayers instead of heartfelt ones.
In fact, there are some mornings where I ask God to forgive me for not praying, because I can feel, in my soul, that my prayers are not heartfelt, that I am not in the “mood” for real prayer.
Yes, I know that when we feel that way it is imperative that we DO pray, for there is nothing that makes one feel better than a heartfelt, humble prayer to God. And as David says in Psalm 51, God will never turn away from a contrite spirit and a broken heart.
And when I pray correctly, I know my prayers are heard because I get that feeling, that tingle, that sense of touch that tells me God is placing his hand on my shoulder.
If you’ve ever felt that then you know what I am talking about- it’s life-changing!
So, worship along with others, sing, repeat the same prayers when they are required, such as the Kiddish over the wine and bread, and the prayers for reading from the Torah, etc.- there’s nothing wrong with traditional, required prayers for a certain activity.
But when it is time for you to pray to God, I believe the most powerful prayers are the ones that come from your heart, and not from a book.
Thank you for being here and please remember to share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers, Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!