11. The Worth of Worship

     “How much is it worth to you?”

     As a kid, I remember hearing and using that phrase, meaning “Sure, I’ll do something for you, but it is going to cost you.”

     I’ve been in my current house nearly seven years and it needs updating. But for the past forever it seems like it has also been in need of major repairs (roof, air conditioning, pool, garage door, carpet). I’ve not been able to update the house because of the cost of the upkeep.

     How much is God worth to you?

     Sometimes my relationship with God is not what it should be for the same reason my house is not where it should be. I have so many “needs” that when I come to God to worship Him, my needs seem to overwhelm my knees bowing to declare how much He is worth to me.
     Unlike a house, God doesn’t need updating. I do. He doesn’t need me to worship Him. I do.  He’s not demanding I declare His worth to Him. I need to express His worth and worthiness of my worship. My needs, no matter how much they seem to me, are not more demanding for my time in prayer than His sufficiency. As a result, I should always exult in praise and thanksgiving for His ample supply.     
     My prayer request list is great, not only for me personally but for my wife and four children and grandson. I have other family members and several persons for whom I pray daily. I read through the lists of needs in our church and then turn my prayerful eyes towards the needs of my state, nation and world. 

     Despite all of that, there is implicit in my prayers a truth that I often overlook: implied in my prayers is my hope and trust that God somehow is greater than all my needs. If I didn’t think that He could answer my prayers, then I wouldn’t…

What?

I wouldn’t…

What??

I wouldn’t … pray.

Ah. That’s it! Maybe that’s why I (and maybe you too) often run around trying to do so much without praying because we don’t really believe what we say we believe: that God is able to deliver us.

What’s more, maybe that’s why we don’t have the jubilant heart of praise and thanksgiving because even if we are praying like we believe it, we are not believing like we pray it! We are not joyful in our prayers because we don’t think he is going to provide that job or pay that bill or restore that relationship. We are not trusting Him.

The writer of Psalm 95 understood this. He calls for singing, shouting, thanksgiving and music and song. From highest of heights to the depths of the earth, there is a resounding call for worship from the psalmist.