I thought I would share some insights contained in Richard Steele's "A Remedy For Wandering Thoughts In Worship," first published in 1673 and republished by Sprinkle Publications, Harrisonburg, Virginia.
All real worship is rightly seen as being before the LORD to seek the LORD of hosts, and to express thanks before God, be that worship private or public, be that worship conducted while one is engaged in prayer or listening to the preaching of God's Word. It follows, then, that when the worshiper is distracted, by either a wandering of the heart or a secret in his heart, he has wandered from the presence of God, he is no longer seeking the LORD. He is no longer engaged in worship.
Proverbs 27.8: "As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place."
Distraction in worship may be described as a wandering of the heart, or as a secret in the heart. Most importantly, however, distraction in worship is seen to be a wandering from God. This is because God is the object of real worship.
Zechariah 8.21 records the proper attitude in worship when it says that ". . . the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also." If you read the verse too quickly you will miss that prayer is properly shown to be "before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts." Next, there is Daniel 6.10, which shows us that Daniel "prayed, and gave thanks before his God." Daniel rightly understood that in his solitary worship of God he actually was before his God. I submit to you that being before the LORD to seek the LORD of hosts, as we see in Zechariah, and giving thanks before God, as we see Daniel doing, has a wider range of application than prayer, or than private worship only.Distraction in worship may be described as a wandering of the heart, or as a secret in the heart. Most importantly, however, distraction in worship is seen to be a wandering from God. This is because God is the object of real worship.
All real worship is rightly seen as being before the LORD to seek the LORD of hosts, and to express thanks before God, be that worship private or public, be that worship conducted while one is engaged in prayer or listening to the preaching of God's Word. It follows, then, that when the worshiper is distracted, by either a wandering of the heart or a secret in his heart, he has wandered from the presence of God, he is no longer seeking the LORD. He is no longer engaged in worship.
