Foremost, in God’s mind, when He created man, it was to have someone with whom He could have a relationship. God is passionate about His relationship with man. As we read Genesis, we are told that God would come in the cool of the evening each and every day to fellowship with His man. (Genesis 3:8-9) Even after Adam and Eve sinned and disobeyed God’s command, He still came to the garden to spend time with them. When they failed to show up because they had hidden themselves, He did not leave until He found them. Even in the very beginning, God was passionate about His relationship with His creation as He went through the garden searching for His man and calling out his name: “Adam, where are you?”

 

I believe God is just as passionate about His relationship with you and me today as He was that day in the garden. Listen closely. He is calling: “Where are my children? Where is the honor due Me? Why won’t they come when I call them?”

 

I believe the great problem facing the church today is that we are no longer impressed with God’s presence. We have lost our sense of awe and reverence of Him. How can we ever have a relationship with Someone we never take the time to talk to? How can we be conformed to an image that we never behold? The whole reason He created us was to have intimacy with Him. God did not establish pious traditions or religious activities in the garden. There was simply a relationship between himself and His man.

 

Maintaining that relationship with man is still God’s main priority.

 

We have spent much of our time and our resources bending over backwards to make sure that people are “comfortable” in our services while giving little or no regard to creating an atmosphere that is pleasing for God to dwell in. It is imperative that we understand that the presence of God is a big deal and must never be entered into or regarded lightly. Just like the protocol that is expected for entering into the presence of a king, there is a certain protocol that is required for entering into the presence of the King of Kings.

 

First, I will enter into His gates with thanksgiving, honor, reverence, and with a grateful heart. God loves and will always respond to a grateful heart. Next, I will enter into His courts with praise. God has promised us in His Word that as we praise Him, He will inhabit and indwell those praises. But I am also glad to know that as we worship Him and behold His presence, we do not have to remain in the courtyard. He will then grant us access into His very throne room, into that “Secret Place.”

 

Based on that, it is easy to see that praise and worship is not a preliminary. It’s not just something we do while we are waiting for those who are late on Sunday morning to get across town. Worship is a continual lifestyle of seeking out and dwelling in God’s presence. Psalms 91 says, “He that dwelleth in the Secret Place (not he that droppeth by on occasion) shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

 

When you praise and worship God, it will always change the atmosphere where you are. Praise will literally pierce the darkness and cause your enemy to run and flee from you in every direction. We are told in God’s Word to put on a garment of praise for the spirit of oppression and heaviness. When Paul and Silas, who had just been beaten senseless and thrown into the bowels of a dark and dingy prison, began to sing praises and rejoice unto the Lord, the very foundations of that prison were shaken violently and their shackles fell to the ground, and they were completely and suddenly delivered from their captivity.

 

While there are many benefits of worship, the greatest thing that worship will accomplish in your life is to bring you closer to God. The Word tells us that if we draw close to Him, then He will draw close to us. What a deal! Today, God is looking for vessels to fill with His mighty presence. For in His presence, there is fullness of joy, and where the Spirit of the Lord abides, there is liberty. God will never turn away from a seeking heart. It is my prayer for you that as you seek Him, you will become that holy habitation for His presence.