On the way to church yesterday I prayed this:
God, show up in HUGE ways today.
Then i shut up for a second and thought to myself, “I bet God hears that a lot.” I bet a lot of times God would to reply, “I’m right here you dummy.”
I asked God for permission to restart my prayer as I had begun it off in a misquided way. Instead of asking God to be there (which he obviously is – do you really think God would miss church?), I asked God to open our eyes.
Think about the difference between a Sunday morning where only 10% of the people in your church gathering are aware of God’s presence compared with a gathering where 80% are aware of God’s presence.
One would feel like business as usual, the other would feel nearly magical.
Maybe as churches, we need to work less at putting on a compelling show on Sunday mornings and work more at turning on people’s awareness to the God who is already there.
I wish there were an easy way to open up the eyes of the congregants. Sometimes I feel as if they’re just there out of obligation or habit.
Here are some ways I think we can help do that, though:
1) Focus on worshiping God, not showing off. Lyrics that emphasize God’s characteristics.
2) Retreats away from normal life.
3) Service projects/mission trips.