Showing Up || Worship Helpers || Part 5 (FINALE)

Over this series, I’ve introduced you to different worship aids that have hopefully helped you pray and worship more efficiently for you. These aids can be done anywhere, at any time, in a way that works for you. Today, I want to talk about encouraging each other to feel comfortable using whatever aid they may need to help them worship our God. I want us to show up for each other without judgment.

Our final worship aid is called “The Shouting Prayer.” I recommend that you give your neighbor a heads-up if you decide to use this today because you don’t want to scare them. Often, we associated prayer with being quiet. We can use our prominent voices too! You can shout joy, shout praise, shout a lament, shout a sadness. You can even use an instrument too if you need it.

I love our sanctuary. I will come in here often to pray or to seek silence. When I know that no one else is in the building, I’ve used this room to scream, shout, and stomp my feet in a significant prayer tantrum.

Something about this room allows you to expel any emotion you have and shout it to the rooftops. Maybe it is because I’ve dealt with the acoustics of this room and know its capabilities, but there’s something about it that shows me that God is present at all times. I often get insecure about praying here to sitting in the silence here when others are here for various reasons. There is this fear of judgment that I deal with fairly regularly, so I do it at a time when others can’t possibly judge me. Even saying this now is stirring up those feelings.

Today, I want to focus on showing up for others without judgment. I know I may not be the only one who feels like this. I know I may not be the only one who has a hard time with public prayer or praying in a way that feels natural to me but unnatural to others. This prayer time is just about God and you, so why do we need to worry about others. Well…we’re human. It’s part of being one of those creatures. The shouting prayer is an excellent way to let it all out. Maybe you want to pray with someone, and you take turns shouting to the world and encouraging each other simultaneously.

We should never have to hold back our relationship with God because of the fear of judgment we may receive from others. Let us show joy, frustration, sadness, and for the ability to have our relationship with God. Amen.