One of the blockages to worship of God is being unaware of who God really is and what He has really done. When we can actually view the mercies of God through the eyes of our heart and soul, the response to worship Him flows freely and powerfully – leading to amazing transformation of our surrendered lives (Romans 12:2).

One concept that has helped me is that God’s mercies and greatness are revealed in “3D.” So often, we worship God in a linear (one dimensional) or planar (two dimensional) sense. For example, if we know that God is “Sovereign” but we’ve never experienced how His Sovereign hand works in our lives through trusting Him, our worship/response to Him will be lacking. Merely viewing God as an intellectual or theological concept is a one dimensional perspective. Or we can know that God is our “Provider” and we have experienced His provision in our lives, but if we don’t embrace the other amazing attributes of God (like He is also our “Sanctifier” and may lead us into “lean times” to purify us from our over-attachment to material things), our view of God is only two-dimensional – also leading to worship/response that will be less than whole hearted when things get tough.

What I propose is a 3D view of God’s mercies and greatness. Paul describes this 3D view in Ephesians 3:17-18:

“I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”

In this, Paul describes Christ’s love (or “God’s mercies” according to Romans) in three tangible (“grasp-able”) dimensions: breadth (wide and long), height and depth. I’ll explain these dimensions of God’s mercies in greater detail over the next few days.

What I want to leave you with is this: the primary engine which activates our awareness of these 3 dimensions of God’s mercies and greatness is Prayer. Notice what Paul writes at the beginning of this passage: “I pray that you … may have power … to grasp …” God reveals these things to us when we ask Him.

Certainly this involves engagement in Scripture – as the Word of God reveals the nature of who God is. And, yes, our experiences of God in our daily lives give us the basis of thanking Him for what He does. But the eyes of our heart need to be opened to “notice” both the character of God in Scripture and the deeds of God in our experience. And that requires supernatural power of God. And that only comes through prayer and His grace (which He so desires to give us).

So let’s pray for “the power to grasp” the 3D wonder of who God is and what He has done for us. And get ready to have your whole life worship expand and explode with authentic passion, communion, and empowerment as we respond to our truly great and wonderful God!