One of my whole life worship friends, Diane, shared with me how worshiping the Lord helps her to abide. She writes:

Finding time to worship everyday helps me to abide especially when the storms of life are raging around me. Christ is the eye of that storm. If I keep looking up at that circle of light in the eye of the storm instead of looking around at the dark clouds, then I know everything will be fine.

There is nothing like worshiping God, whether it is in song or a prayer of praise or in giving glory to His name with our bodies (standing, kneeling, lifting our hands). Worship is an act of faith, responding to who God is or what He has done. And in that act of faith, God’s presence is not just honored, but sometimes it is revealed. That’s when the “abiding” begins.

Our perspective begins to change. The things of the world, whether they are dark clouds of being overwhelmed or the grey fog of confusion or the beige-like “blahness” of going through the motions, move to the periphery and we begin to see light. We get our bearings; our compass is recalibrated from the illusions of worldly values and standards to the true North of Christ and His ways. And we begin to see the Light that gives life to our souls.

Some of us enjoy singing to God – the most popular form of worship. And I highly recommend taking some time to sing praises to God during the day. And if you can’t sing, you can hum or whistle (which my wife loves to do). Turn on your iPod and play some praise music – and join in the song!

But you don’t have to be a singer to be a worshiper. As I alluded earlier, you worship whenever you respond to the Person and Work of God. I worship God when I thoughtfully read a Psalm (especially the ones that are a part of the Daily Office). Just before I started writing this, I prayed the mid-day office. I paused and reflected and glorified God after each phrase. It took about 10 minutes. But it made a difference.

Or you can worship God by reciting a simple prayer of surrender, recognizing His greatness, His goodness, while confessing your dependency on Him. The “Jesus Prayer” is a great example of such a simple prayer (“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”) You can pray that in your car or at your desk or when you are walking across the hall.

The abiding that leads to abounding doesn’t have to be hours of profound intimacy with God. It can be a moment before you do each task. It’s about finding simple ways of getting “God on your mind, Christ in your heart and the Spirit flowing through your body.” And worship is the best way to start.

How do you get God more into your day?

What helps you to worship God in everyday moments?