To my knowledge, there are no studies to prove the data, but I would venture to guess that most people who walk through the doors of our churches are doing very little to prepare their hearts for the corporate gathering of the people of God on a weekly basis.
Why is that?
I’m sure there are several reasons:
People are busy. We cram our lives full of activities, responsibilities, and tasks, and because of this, it is difficult for us to see any further than the very next item on our to-do lists.
Our church attendance feels more like a box to check rather than a body in which to participate and build up.
Our faith is shaping very little else in our lives. It is merely an addition to a nice, comfortable, full life.
We leave a small margin to slow ourselves down long enough to reflect, repent, remember, or celebrate.
But ultimately, I think it is that we do not understand, nor have we been taught that preparing our hearts readies us to hear and respond to the Word of God, to apply God’s Word to our lives, to serve one another, and to celebrate the person and work of Christ.
Every Sunday is a celebration where the people of God are invited to “feast on the abundance” of the house of God and “drink from the rivers of [His] delights (Psalm 36:8).” And just as we prepare our homes to host and celebrate with our friends and family, so we must prepare our hearts to celebrate with our brothers and sisters in Christ as we encounter God together every week.
Naturally, for the worship leader and worship team, there is the preparation that is required to lead and serve every week. You have to choose songs, get set up, and rehearse all before the corporate gathering. And hopefully, these opportunities become yet one more chance to ready your heart instead of just completing a task. Unless they are preparing to serve, our church members are probably not spending time outside of church getting ready for church. How do we help our people learn to value the preparation of heart for the gathering? First, we must model it in our own lives. Second, we must lead them to understand the value, and how they might begin to ready and prepare their hearts to worship. The following is how I described it to our church members in a recent email:
We prepare our hearts for worship by turning our attention to God - inviting Him to speak to us and turning our hearts and minds to Him. We prepare our hearts for worship by setting our affections on Him - learning to treasure Christ as we confess we have loved things more than God. We prepare our hearts for worship by coming with expectation - expectant that God will move in us and through us, expectant that He desires to speak to us, expectant that we will encounter Him and be changed. We prepare our hearts for worship by looking for the opportunity to serve rather than be served.
No true encounter with Jesus ever leaves us the same.
So may we encourage and equip our people to prepare their hearts for worship, and model for them the value.