15 Aug Do You Have A Magnum Adoratio?
HELP WHEN YOU’RE TOO WEARY TO WORSHIP
I mentioned last week that my greatest challenges in spending time nurturing my relationship with God are fatigue and distraction, and that there are three things I do when I don’t feel like spending time with God or worshiping Him.
- I remind myself of truth, that there is always time to do the will of God.
- I look at it from God’s perspective, realizing that God is pleased when we worship Him and spend time nurturing our relationship with Him even when we don’t feel like it.
- And I rely on written prayers and spiritual resources.
This week, I want to share with you a specific prayer (Free PFD for you below) that I use when I am particularly disinclined to worship. It is made up of classic and time-tested expressions of worship from Scripture and church history.
I call it my Magnum Adoratio, which – if Google’s Latin translator is correct – means something like “lofty, or high worship”.
I use it when I’m too weary or distracted to worship with my own original words.
- I begin with The Lord’s Prayer, which brings me into the presence of God, leads me to any needed confession of sin, and aligns me with God’s will.
- I transition to Psalm 23, one of the best-known and most highly appreciated passages of Scripture in all the Bible, which honors God’s loving sovereignty in my life and affirms my security in Him.
- Next, I review the truth… what I believe… the reality upon which my faith and life rests: The Apostle’s Creed. I love having a short statement that I can point to and say, “I am a Christian, and this is what I believe.”
- Winding down, I pivot to praise in The Doxology, a brief old hymn which – in my mind – expresses my gratitude for the first three components.
- I finish with an ancient statement of glory to the Triune God whom we worship, The Gloria Patri.
You may be well-familiar with these expressions of worship, but if not:
- The Lord’s Prayer and Psalm 23, of course, are Scripture.
- The Apostles’ Creed is an ancient summary of the essentials of the Christian faith, the origins of which can be traced back as far as 390 AD. Some believe the core of it goes back to the 12 Apostles. Most likely all major leaders of the Christian faith have been familiar with it, and many likely used it.
- The Doxology is a short hymn of praise written in 1674.
- Gloria Patri is another brief hymn of praise going back to the earliest days of the ancient church.
In putting these all together into one combined expression of worship, I am enriched because of the height, breadth, and depth of the truth contained and expressed in a way that lifts me higher in my own expression of worship than I could go without them. In addition, I am doubly enriched by recognizing that these words of worship have been known and revered by serious Christians throughout the history of the Church. I feel a sense of spiritual kinship with the saints of the ages who came before me, knowing that these particular Scriptures and affirmations were likely precious to them, as well.
As I said, I value this on the days I am so weary and distracted that I find nurturing my relationship with God elusive. But I also use it at opposite times… when I am feeling particularly worshipful and want to offer a richer-than-usual expression of worship to Him.
And because neuroscience tells us that “we feed our subconscious and then our subconscious feeds us”, shedding light on the “mind-renewal process of transformation” that is taught in Romans 12:1-2, I believe that using this worship resource frequently, so frequently that we have it all deeply memorized, helps change us from the inside out, even as it helps us worship.
A Gift For You
I have created a PDF that has all five of these expressions of worship woven together into a single worship resource that you can use in your own time with the Lord. Whether using it in “dry times”, or for “higher worship” times, simply read through it as an act of worship. Sometimes I recite it from memory as I fall asleep at night or if I wake up in the middle of the night. I don’t worry if I fall asleep in the middle of it. It’s a great way to fall asleep.
Click Me! to Download Your Free pdf: Magnum Adoratio! UPDATE – If you read this blog in your email inbox, you’ll need to click the “title link” at the beginning of the post to be able to have access to the live “Click Me!” link on the blog. Also, current subscribers will NOT receive duplicate newsletters when signing up again in order to receive this free pdf.
I hope you find having this Magnum Adoratio as meaningful as I do in nurturing your relationship with God. And that it helps lift you higher in worship, especially on your dry days.
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