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Alligators and Praise
This morning I woke up from an odd dream. In it, I had been at a friend’s house, getting a tour of their new home. It was a nice enough home, but not really “like them.” It was a little out-dated in its look, and in fact the back yard almost looked as if it could have been in a Hollywood movie from a 1950’s film noir clip. They had a pool that was filled with hungry fish and snapping alligators. Don’t ask me how they got along – it was a dream – and while this seemed odd at the time, my friend just shrugged it off, and so we went inside. We came in late to an already in progress worship service where her boys, husband and sons, were all singing, and her youngest son was playing the guitar. (To the best of my knowledge, in real life he is not a guitar player.) My husband was praying aloud, and my friend whispered to me that at any moment, a particular young girl was going to interrupt and ask why he was doing that. She didn’t. The girl just sat quietly. But in the dream, I was struggling to figure out the relationship between this young girl and my friend. I’m sure I was supposed to know it, but she didn’t fit. I knew my friend did not have a child by this name, and I didn’t know who the girl was. Funny that I didn’t get stuck on why the young girl would be hesitant to pray.
It was then that I woke up to my dog’s muzzle in my face, telling me that it was time for breakfast. She routinely wakes me up at 4:30 every morning, anxious to eat, and I hold her off as long as I can – usually until about 5:30. But as I tossed and turned, trying to go back to sleep, I tried desperately to finish the dream. Who was this girl? Why was she not interested in praying? Why was I dreaming about my friend in this strange house? As I always do when I have a weird dream, I asked God to let me know if this was just weird, restless sleep, or if there was some reason I was supposed to be praying for my friend – some reason why she was on my mind at 4:30 in the morning.
It wasn’t until a few hours later that I realized what today is. Today, September 11th, is the anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy. On this day, nine years ago, I was with this same friend, and we were in prayer. We had gone to our regular weekly homeschool coop event with all of our children, and that’s where we heard the news of the terrorist attacks. As a group, we all stopped to pray for quite some time that day, and then, slowly, we moved back into our daily activities as best we could.
I don’t know if the alligators were symbolic of something or if this young girl who didn’t want to pray was there to remind me of anything or not. I just know that God woke me up with friends on my heart, and worship on my lips, and that was right and good. On this day, no matter the “alligators” in your midst, they can be shrugged off as my friend did in the dream. Move into that place of worship and prayer today, no matter what you are doing. That place of worship in your heart is an excellent place to be, and after half the day has passed since my dream, I think I have my answer from God about its purpose.
Worship or We-Sit?
What draws you to your church service? Is it the worship? The social life? Obligation? Your turn to serve in one of the ministries…..
Often, we get into a worship rut in that we attend our church service, but for reasons that have nothing to do with worship. Sometimes we turn it into a place to sit for an hour or so or another meeting that we “have” to attend. This is a common problem that all Christians experience. Some Sundays are better than others. Sometimes the music falls flat, or it doesn’t minister to us. Sometimes the person who ends up sitting next to us is the one who just rubs us the wrong way, or they don’t discipline their kids well, and it’s distracting.
The truth is that there will always be distractions and hindrances to our worship. Whether it is Satan trying to take our eyes off of God, or laziness of the flesh, worship is an active process, and if we fail to act, then all we are doing is sitting. We sit in pews or padded chairs and grumble about the flaws of those annoyances around us, when we could instead put on the garment of praise and enter into the very courts of heaven!
I am not immune to this temptation, and have on more than one occasion found myself doing more sitting and grumbling than worshipping my Lord. I have looked for ways that the service will speak to me rather than speaking to my Father. I have had my eyes set upon the cute purse that my friend just bought or the sinner next to me rather than on the face of Jesus. I have listened for the quiet of children instead of the hush of God’s Spirit moving between the mountains.
The solution to this is always the same for me. Worship God. Speak to Him. Look to Jesus. Listen for His Spirit. Be intentional about my purpose in being there with God’s other children, regardless of what they are doing around me. Sometimes I have to close my eyes to avoid these distractions, but always, when I do, there is a sweetness that God shows me, not just of Himself, but of those around me. This is the way to having His heart towards others – start with worship! And when that seems tough, close your eyes, and keep at it!
“Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.” (Psalm 147:1)
