Preparing for the Lord's Day

It is about 3 minutes to 11:00AM as I type these words. Five hours of my day have passed and by God's grace I trust there will be another eleven more before it is time for bed. On this day, how will I prepare my heart and mind for tomorrow? How will I seek to be ready to worship the living Lord in the community of fellow believers? What will YOU do to get ready for worship?

Here are a few practical suggestions just for you.

1. Get you clothes for tomorrow ready tonight.
This reduces a lot of stress on Sunday morning. This is true as an adult with no children and it is vital for families with children. Picking out and preparing your clothes on Saturday night will make a huge positive impact in your Sunday morning routine, Try it, you will wonder why you haven't done this before.

2. Go to bed at a decent hour. 
Ten is much better than twelve. If you had an important meeting scheduled for the next day with the company CEO, or loan officer at the bank, or with a very important client; you would probably value a good night's rest so you were mentally, physically and emotionally on your game when the meeting time comes around.
Wouldn't it be wise to be mentally, physically and emotionally engaged at a meeting in which we seek to worship the living Lord? Instead of worrying about missing the news or final weather forecast of the night; why not think about the excitement of encountering God with total alertness because that is exactly what you will be ready to do by getting sufficient rest.

3. Spend some time in focused prayer.
Let's see, I can pray for various aspect of the service. I should pray for those who lead in the service. Praying for members and guests to be present and eager to worship would be a good request. Asking the Lord to give me eyes to see and ears to hear the truth He has for me may certainly tune my heart to hear His Word.
Now, here is a radical prayer: "Lord, I want to respond in obedience to the Word that is proclaimed in Church tomorrow. I will be like young Samuel who said: "Speak, for your servant hears." (1 Sam. 3:10) and I will do what you say."

4. Prepare your heart for worship.
How? Ask the Lord to guide you and direct you in preparing your heart for worship tomorrow. Preparing your heart may include reading a devotional, thinking about a portion of Scripture, singing or humming a favorite hymn or just being quiet and listening for the Lord.

There is a big difference between showing up for worship and being prepared to enter into worship. Take some time TODAY to get prepared for tomorrow and tomorrow will be a significant day of worship for you.

Preparing for the Lord's day,
Pastor Mike