At some point in my youth I got it into my head that conferences are a colossal waste of time. I somehow came to believe that they are not a good use of a Christian’s time. I have since had to rethink this position. Having now attended many wonderful conferences, I’ve come to see that, contrary to my former beliefs, they can be a tremendous blessing. Already they have blessed me immeasurably. While good conferences provide edifying teaching, they are also a time of spiritual refreshment. They are a brief time away from the ordinary and a time of focusing on God.
As you know, tomorrow I’ll be heading to Gaithersburg, Maryland for the WorshipGod06 Conference. I’ve wondered how I should pray to prepare my heart and to ask God to prepare the hearts of others who will attend. As I so often do, I decided to try writing down some thoughts. They became a prayer. Here, then, is my prayer prior to this conference.
Our gracious God and Father. I approach your throne today, knowing that it is only through the name of Jesus that I can stand before you. I thank and praise you for your goodness in allowing me to do so. I am unworthy of this honor, this privilege.
I come before you to seek your blessing on the WorshipGod conference.
Grant that the men who will bring your Word to us this week may do so with power and with great freedom. Be near to Bob Kauflin, Jeff Purswell, Mark Mullery, Craig Cabaniss and Randy Alcorn. Grant them humility before your Word as they finish their preparations and grant that they may be filled with a holy dread and gravity as they stand before your people. May they know what it is to be filled with the Spirit. May we know what it is to sit under the preaching of the Word. Speak to us, we pray. Speak to our hearts through the words of these men. May we never be the same.
Be with the men and women who will lead us in worship. Be near to Bob Kauflin, Keith and Kristyn Getty and all others who will sing or play instruments. Grant that in all things they may seek to serve you. May they select songs that will bring glory and honor to Your name. May they lead us in singing songs that celebrate the beauty of the Savior. May they lead us in songs that sing of your wonders, your glory, your triumphs, your holiness, your majesty. Let everything that has breath in that place praise the Lord together. May our worship be a sweet and fragrant offering to you. Accept it Lord, though we know it is poor and imperfect. Accept it through Your grace.
Be with the men and women who are responsible for organizing the conference. We thank you for the servant’s hearts you have given to them. We ask that you will allow them to be a blessing to many of your people this week. We ask that the conference will run smoothly and that Your hand will be evident in all that transpires.
Would you help all who attend to come to this conference as true worshippers—as those who worship you in spirit and in truth. Grant that we may not come before you as frauds, standing in Your presence filled with unconfessed sin. Give us the strength and wisdom to reconcile ourselves to our brothers and sisters before we come before You in worship. Give us discerning hearts that we may see and confess our sin before you. Open our eyes to see and to know you in a new way. Help us to worship you only with our lips, but with our hearts, our souls, and all that we are. Accept the gift of worship we will bring to you. May it please you.
Be with your servant Pastor Josh as he prepares to preach your Word on Sunday. Grant that his time of preparation will be fruitful and that you will stir His heart with the great news of the gospel, that he may preach with power and with passion on Sunday morning.
Be with me Lord. I confess that already my heart is polluted with sin. As I think about worshipping you, already I wonder how other men may perceive me. Already I sin against you. Extend your gracious forgiveness to me that I may come before you with a clean heart. Renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, but allow me to stand before you in worship. Keep before me that to obey is better than sacrifice. Help me to be obedient to you in all things. Fill me with your spirit. Grant that I may serve you by serving others.
Grant travelling mercies as men and women from around the world converge tomorrow on Gaithersburg. Keep us safe in car, plane and train. Speed us on our way as we gather together in Your name.
We pray for peace and unity while we gather together. We ask that there will be mercy and understanding. We ask that there will be a great outpouring of your Spirit. We ask that you will bless us in Jesus name and for His sake.
I ask these things humbly and in the name that is above all names. I ask trusting that You hear this prayer. Grant that I may be expectant and observant in seeking answers to this prayer so that I may praise You for Your goodness. May we all seek Your presence and glory in it together as we worship you this week.
Comments (10) »
1. Jeri
August 8, 2006
11:53 AM
Amen brother Tim.
2. Jabbok
August 8, 2006
12:26 PM
I, too, was of the opinion that conferences were a waste of time but I’ve since changed my mind.
What’s the old saying? “You never waste time when you stop to sharpen the axe”.
I think I lost the value of conferences by going to them with the idea that I was there to gather sermon material, illustrations and other benefits that I could share with my church. Of course, the members of my church weren’t there to enjoy it and the second hand material that I shared with them was never as good as what I had received.
I think I would have benefited from them more if I attended with the idea that I was there for my own spiritual refreshment.
So, I hope you can relax, enjoy the fellowship and have a wonderful time worshiping our Lord.
3. Tim Challies
August 8, 2006
12:45 PM
“I think I lost the value of conferences by going to them with the idea that I was there to gather sermon material, illustrations and other benefits that I could share with my church.”
That could well be. I think a lot of conferences directed at pastors focus on methodology. When this is the case, the pastor is not given a time of refreshment. Instead he comes back and tries to make programs that work as well as the instructors told him they would. They rarely do.
If I were a pastor, I think the one conference I would want to attend is The Shepherd’s Conference. They really try to take care of the pastors there while both challenging them and allowing them a time of spiritual and even physical refreshment. How many conferences off free shoe shining?
4. candyinsierras
August 8, 2006
1:15 PM
Wow. Excellent and humble prayer Tim. I really believe God is going to bless you. Tim….I like that you are already considering what is in your heart, of how you might be perceived by other men. I have been in charismatic meetings in the past and felt uncomfortable also (they definitely participated in the extremes of charismaniac practices, which influenced me to leave those kinds of churches). I haven’t gone to a charismatic church for years but as I have stated in the past, I am still of a conservatice persuasion in that area. In fact, I have been going to a reformed Baptist church for a time now, and even some of them will raise their hands during worship. I could be wrong but I believe that Bob Kauflin and others will approach this conference with respect and honor before the Lord.
5. Tim Challies
August 8, 2006
1:24 PM
Candy - I agree. I am not intimidated by the SG worship and have been in charismatic circles before. When I search my heart I see that I can be as obsessed with what people think of me (and what I think of others) in any context…
6. Thomas Stack
August 8, 2006
2:05 PM
Amen, Tim! Enjoy the fellowship and opportunity to immmerse yourself in Him, and His presence! And with regard to all the various expressions of worship, just close your eyes and *look* on Him and His majesty, and you’ll be (more than) fine.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Tom
Doctrine Matters
7. jca
August 8, 2006
2:58 PM
Tim,
Have a great time. I’ve been to a few SG conferences before (back when they were called Celebration) and really enjoyed the worship and teaching. I also really sensed the joy and unity among these brothers and sisters, though I tend to look more PCA than they. I know I learned a lot from them and was edified. Thanks for providing the blogging - I’ll be checking in.
Jack
8. laurie
August 8, 2006
5:53 PM
I appreciate your prayer for this conference. I will be attending as well and to be honest, I haven’t thought much about it, let alone really prayed for it or my own heart. In the busy-ness of getting my kids ready for grandma’s, packing, etc. I seem to have lost sight of the opportunity before me at the worshipGod conference. Thanks for the reminder to pray.
BTW, my husband and I hope to meet you. We have been reading your blog for about a year, and are glad to have opportunity to say thanks for your contribution to the blogosphere.
Don’t worry, I won’t stare at you while you worship. :)
9. donsands
August 8, 2006
11:43 PM
Amen and amen. Wonderful prayer. Thank you for sharing your heart. I hope to visit one of the Main Sessions.
I think it’s great that you will be posting from this conference. I remember how encouraged i was to read your posts from the Together for the Gospel conference.
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” Rev. 5:12
10. Chris McSweeney
August 9, 2006
11:12 AM
In reading these heart reflections concerning others’ opinions of us in worship, I recall the words of this song, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus! Look full in His glorious face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace!” I am praying for you to have a heart-to-heart encounter with the Savior this week, totally undistracted by others around you. I have the privilege to worship at CLC every Sunday and it is our desire as a church that all our visitors would feel warmly welcomed and at home.