A Prepared Heart

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.” Psalm 100:4

I mentioned in my post last week that I am a planner, so it should come as no surprise that I began Wednesday to plan our Saturday trip to visit our daughter at college. We were going to make the 2-hour drive north about mid-day visit some, go to the homecoming game and then come home that night. Since it was such a short trip, you would not think there would be much to plan but there was. See the weather around here has been crazy lately. Fall is here but summer has not quiet decide it is ready to leave. With these two varied seasons pushing each other around you just never, know when a rain shower or even a thunderstorm will pop up. So with all that in mind I made sure that I packed a rain jacket, a sweatshirt, cushions to sit on, quarters to give her for laundry and a few other things she might need. I planned out what I was going to wear, what time we needed to leave and even the radio station in that area so we could listen to other football games. We had a great time spending time with Samantha and letting her show us around campus some. Her team won in a close exciting game.

The next morning as I was getting dressed for church I thought back to Saturday of all the preparation I had made for just an event that would only last a few hours. I made sure that every ‘what if’ was covered. I had my full focus on making sure that we enjoyed our time to the fullest extent that we could. Now with that in mind, I begin reviewing my Sunday morning routines. I am not as attentive to in preparing myself for church. Yes, I get up and make sure that my clothes are ironed, that my hair is fixed and my make-up is applied. However, I do not always make sure that my heart is prepared. I do not take the time to develop my attitude to be grateful. I do not focus on walking into that sanctuary to praise God for all He has done for me that week. Although I would tell you that God speaks to me through the words the pastor speaks, I do not always go expecting to hear from God. How would me worship, praise and life change if I spent as much time on Sunday morning preparing for church as I did preparing for that ball game on Saturday?

So how am I suppose to prepare for church? I think it begins way before Sunday morning. These are the things that I will be more diligent in:

• Daily quiet time
  
  
• Prayer – prayers of thanksgiving and repentance
  
  
• Expect that God WILL speak to you
  

These few simply steps can prepare the soil of my heart for whatever seeds the Lord wants to plant during worship service.

What steps do you take to prepare your heart for worship ?

Amy

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