Preparation

Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

Ecclesiastes 5:1

The Lord reminded me of this verse recently and how I had let one of my habits of preparation slip. I had been waking up early on Sunday mornings with the intention of praying for one hour. No, I didn’t time myself, but it was a goal. A challenge that came about from a study of when Jesus asked the Peter, James, and John to watch and pray (Matthew 26:36-46). I just wanted to work up to having a lengthy time of prayer with the Lord, and Sundays were the perfect day to do that. I had more time and it served as a way to ready my heart for the services to come. The Lord prompted me again to consider how I prepare to enter the house of God on a regular basis and to share this challenge with you.

I’m afraid that too often we go to church unprepared. We have lost reverence for God and His House. We see coming to church as a place we go rather than a place to meet with our Lord and Savior. We come in having no understanding that God wants to use the services to meet with us, and so we have no expectation that He will meet with us.

We are distracted by the things of this world. We are tired because we haven’t made the preparations to get the rest we need to be alert. We are disinterested because we haven’t allowed God to meet with us at church in way too long. We are content to go through the motions of “church.”

God commands us to “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God…” This means that we are to be careful, to watch our step, to take care in how we enter the House of God. We need to take time to prepare our hearts and minds so that we are “…more ready to hear…”

Practically speaking, what does it look like to prepare to enter the House of God?

• Go to bed.

Preparing for church really starts the night before. I realize we are all different and some require more sleep than others. Get the rest you need. Enough said.

• Clean out the clutter.

Before church, be cautious about what you are taking in. Leave the television off. Don’t “play” on your phone. Checking Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. is not a way to prepare your mind and heart to meet with the Lord. This is easier on Sunday morning, and a little more difficult for evening services. It can be done though. Set a time to “shut it all down” before services. And if you have kids at home, you should be helping them (maybe forcing them to) make those same choices.

• Pray.

Spend time praying before services. Sunday mornings are a great time to spend extra time in prayer. Pray for the services. Pray the Lord will prepare your heart and mind. Pray that distractions will be limited. Pray that you will be obedient. Pray that the Lord will meet with you.

• Read your Bible.

Take some time to read your Bible. Don’t rely on the messages of the day to be your spiritual food. You need to study the Bible personally.

• Actively engage in the services.

Make the decision to listen with the intention of hearing what God has for you. It really is that simple. On the days when your mind starts to wander, snap your mind back to attention. On the days when you are tired, snap your mind back to attention and adjust your posture. Nodding off in church is often joked about, but it actually shows how disinterested you are in the message (unless you truly have a sleep disorder of some kind). Choose to actively listen.

The remainder of the verse is actually the most convicting part. God tells us to be prepared to enter the House of God and to “…be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.”

When we go to church unprepared, we are giving the sacrifice of fools. And God said, “…to obey is better than sacrifice… (I Samuel 15:22)”.

When we go through the motions of church—whether it is to satisfy our own guilty conscience or because we just haven’t taken the time to prepare—we are actually doing evil. We are not revering God and His House as we should.

We need to recognize that when we head to church, we are entering in to the very sanctuary of God. We should be taking time to prepare, not just for the big events, but every time we enter into His House.

Will you join me in being more intentional to prepare your heart for church services?