To Worship In Spirit And In Truth

And so the LORD says,
    “These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
    is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.”

—Isaiah 29:13 (NLT)

”For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

—John 4:24 (NLT)

Loving LORD God,

Let all that I am worship You in spirit and in truth! 

Don’t allow me just to claim that I am Yours—to honor You with my lips, while my heart is far from You.  Keep me from becoming disobedient—whether it is through my careless neglect of my relationship with You, or by my willful and conscious disregard of Your commands.

Don’t allow my worship of You to become mechanical, or something I do by rote, or to flow from impure motives—which make my worship of You more about me, instead of all about You.  Keep me from becoming a hypocrite—from allowing my life and my worship to become a lie, told by both my words and my actions.

But rather, let me always worship You from a pure and right heart—motivated only by my love for who You are and for all that You have done—so that all of my thoughts, words and actions, at all times and in all places, would bring You glory, honor and praise. Let my life be one continuous and unbroken act of honest and sincere worship of You.

Let all that I am worship You in spirit and in truth!

In the name of Jesus, Amen.