The Little Goldfinch

In Give Praise to God, Donald S. Whitney is discussing the power of private worship in the lives of Christians.  By sharing his thoughts on routine in private worship, the daily consistency of private worship, and the point of private worship as growing close to God, he avoids making private worship part of a daily checklist or making it something that happens sporadically because it is not made a consistent priority.  On pg.311, he says that “Nothing in the Bible says that your way of ordering private worship . . . has to be the same or like anyone else’s”. While I have appreciated the wise contributions of mature Christians in my private worship, there should be no feeling of guilt in deciding that my worship of God and relationship with Him is better benefited with a certain mode of learning from God’s Word over another.  At the same time however, Whitney does not excuse a lazy and “whatever goes” approach to private worship but that it takes discipline and desire for God to make that spot in busy schedules for private worship to happen (314-315). Our daily consistent investment in private worship will make the most incredible difference in our relationship with God and our reflection of Him (316).  Thus, while not fostering a “there is only one right way to private worship and then we can check it off the list” mindset, Whitney shows that our relationship with God requires diligence and thoughtfulness in private worship. 

While I cannot say statistically how many people think like this, I know that I have to consciously think of private worship as part of my relationship with God instead of an activity to check of the list and I think that part of the Christian struggle to have private worship is related to our mindset that it is a good Christian thing to do, not that it is investing in a relationship.  How do we better promote a mindset of private worship being about our worship of and relationship with God in children’s programs like AWANA or WOL where private worship becomes part of checking it off the list?