By Melvin Twigg Mason
“God desires worship above all else. Thus, everyone, especially every man, who calls himself a Christian must understand that worship is the ultimate priority of his life.”
So says R. Kent Hughes, author of “The Disciplines Of A Godly Man.” Hughes states that the priority and importance of worship to our Creator are clearly seen in scripture, from the Old Testament (Leviticus, Psalms, et.al.) to the New (Luke 10:41-42; Phil.2:10-11, etc). Thus begins his chapter The Discipline of Worship. 
When a man exercises in this discipline, Hughes indicates that the payoff is the promise of God’s presence. This is true of both individual worship [“For He has said ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So that you may boldly say, ‘the Lord is my helper.’” –Hebrews 13:5-6] and group gatherings [“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I will be there in the midst of them.” –Matthew 18:20]. But to reap this benefit, Hughes says one must prepare with sincerity, approach with expectancy, and engage in spirit and in truth.
Preparation
According to the author, this is a matter of practicality, not just spirituality. Whether individually or as a family, prepare for worship by:
- having your Bible readily available,
- not engaging in worship when your mind/body is in need of sleep/rest,
- praying beforehand that you would bless God and hear from Him,
- getting up on time for church services
- eating at a set hour, and
- leaving home in time so as not to rush
Expectancy
Hughes suggests that when it comes to worship, you ought to “come expecting to uniquely meet God,” especially in corporate [i.e. group] worship. He presents examples showing that group encounters of any kind tend to carry a greater intensity than individual experiences, and therefore the same would be true of collective worship. But whether individual or group, “We must come with great expectation — for we will experience just what we expect.”
In Spirit and Truth
To worship our Creator in truth means we are working from an accurate understanding of who He is and how He behaves (to the finite degree that our human minds can comprehend.) The main source of that information is the Word of God. Concerning our worship in spirit, Hughes says the discipline of worship is not meant to be a lip-service performance (Mark 7:6; II Timothy 3:2-5) but truly, openly ascribing to the value and worth of our Creator from every fiber of our innermost being. He cites the Psalms of David as an example.
Too often we trade deep Christian worship for superficial, spectator-focused church-ianity! The author figuratively refers to this as “murder in the Chapel.”
In actuality gentlemen, when our spirits are lifted it is simply a by-product of our lifting Jesus higher! Above all, we must remember that worship, true worship, is not for us but for Him. Our Creator is an audience of one.