Practicing the Presence?

[thetentguy]

I heard that practice makes perfect, so the other day I started practicing being perfect. It’s really quite easy, this perfection business. Only this practice thing seems to involve a bit of mistakes along the way, so now I’m starting to wonder if I’m the embodiment of perfection gone awry or the picture of catastrophe narrowly averted by practice!

Being in the same band for the last 10 years has shown the value of rehearsal over and again. However, I find that just like physical exercise, the more in shape and skillful one gets the less time it takes to warm up. After playing together for so long, our band really only needs a little bit of warm up time to get our fingers and vocal cords in shape, yet we still spend about an hour in practicing worship before each worship gig we play. Mostly, the "real" set is just a continuation of practice and if we get in a groove during practice it runs right through to the meeting.

I remember a particular three day series of worship meetings that we played with a few other musicians a few years ago. We were set up at 4 PM for a meeting start time of 7PM. Someone struck the first note of practice and it was like all we could do to not fall out of our chairs! We played straight through to 9:30 PM; and we played hard. The other setup people came in early and were unable (or didn't want) to do anything because of God’s presence. The attendees came in expecting a nice clean worship "show" only to find the place strewn about with Lovesick worshipers and God-hungry musicians... It happened three nights in a row. In effect, we had three hours of practice for a two hour official gig every night!

Any successful market trader will tell you to never underestimate the power of "paper trading" for practice; many still paper trade 20 years after first beginning in order try out new methods. It’s all in the ability to easily flow back and forth from practice to the real deal while keeping your aptitude on an even plane.

Could the same be with us who like God’s presence? It does, after all take practice to know when you enter the Holy Place and time to learn how to not mess it up!

Anyway, just a bunch of rambling thoughts I've been having and thought I'd share em. This is probably the longest post in history… hope it makes sense!

[maydavidj]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Do you mean practicing in God's presence, like worshipping even though it's just practice? If so, I think those are the best practices. Sure, practice is time to get stuff straight and learn so you can play with excellence and lead the congregation in worship, but it should be a time that glorifiies God as well.

[El Ben]

Hey tentguy,

Been reading Brother Lawrence's "Practice of the Presence of God" lately?

If not, you should. Also, check out Madame Guyon's "A Short and Easy Guide to Prayer."

These books (essays, really) are more than five hundred years old and yet are timeless and great expositions on this subject.

[thetentguy]

:o What I was thinking about is practicing God's presence... during worship practice. I realize that it's our private worship times that shape our identities and determine how far one will go corporately, but I'm thinking the corporate practice of God's presence is often overlooked. We sometimes can get so focused on putting together the set that we forget what it's all about. It is, after all, called "worship practice"!

El Ben, I've read that book, it's sort of what brought on my above diatribe; a very good book indeed. I'm reading "Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ" by Guyon right now.... good stuff! Maybe that's why my post sounds so confusing... it's easy to get so far immersed in the "Depths" that you don't make sense!

[maydavidj]

Yeah, I think it is definitately a good idea to really worship during practice. I just didn't know what to make of it because I thought you might have meant "pretending" :eek: like rehearsing what expressions you would display in the service when you were "in the presence" or something weird like that. Oh well, I guess what you're saying is not to forget the purpose that we do what we do in our rehearsals and use them as a time of worship as well. :) ?

[thetentguy]

Oh my... no. That would be pathetic! (practicing expressions). I mean like just really going for it and entering into worship during practice. Some band members would say, "Hey, don't go too far man! Save that stuff for the 'real' meeting" if I'd get serious about worshiping during practice.

The problem is, I could never recapture those moments during the "real" meeting because there were different people there and it didn't feel the same. Now, if we happen to get into a really amazing groove during practice we follow it through. It seems to break something in the spirit that makes the real meeting even better when it starts!

We probably come from different "flavors" of worship (which I think is awesome, by the way) so there's probably some dynamics that are different with the both of our church experiences! Worship, at the heart level, is the same language across the board... :)

[sicstrings]

"Practicing" worship is something I really get into. :D

Tentguy, I hear ya about having some of the best worship times during practice. Probably because of less distractions, closer group of people your with...

Anyway, our leadership has been in discussion about what we do during a Worship gathering. And one thought has been starting a discussion that what we are doing corporately is really just "practice" for when we all get to heaven. So, let's practice, practice, practice. And one day we'll all be perfect!!

[free_by_grace]

:o What I was thinking about is practicing God's presence... during worship practice...We sometimes can get so focused on putting together the set that we forget what it's all about. It is, after all, called "worship practice"!

I suppose it depends on how far you limit the definition of "Worship". The music we prepare for a given gathering is only one form of worship. What if we thought of our diligence in practice times as a form of worship... of saying, "God, we give this time to you as we prepare this music. We give our energies as a form of worship to you. Our discussions of style and transitions... may they glorify you."

I'm not disagreeing at all about bringing worship into the musical atmosphere during practice, but pointing out that even our diligence and hard work can be considered a form of worship when we approach it with a worshipful attitude. I think we should feel free to express worshipfully as we prepare the music and recognize that the Lord's presence comes "where two or more are gathered" and we can truly experience a time of worship during our rehearsals.

"Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do all to the glory of God"

[El Ben]

After giving this a good deal of thought, here's a couple of thoughts I had on practicing the presence:

Contemplative prayer/meditation: Brother Lawrence really championed this type of prayer in his letters, which were later compiled into "The Practice of the Presence of God." Basically, contemplative prayer is making time to find God in the mundane, average moments in life. There's no necessity for soft worship music playing in the background or for a gentle fountain trickling in the distance. Contemplative prayer finds spice in the chaotic morning office rush, the jackhammer incessantly pounding outside your window, or the unnaturally rank smell that just won't go away.

Contemplative prayer focuses on thinking on the character of God, and in that mental focus, one finds themselves in God's presence. Let me explain it like this:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.
-Proverbs 3:5 and 6 (NASB)

In the effort to "practice" perfection, it is necessary to understand that Jesus was the ultimate exposition, the final translation, and the absolutely authoritative interpretation of the character of God. (Hebrews 1:3) Now, with that in mind, I'd like to point out that the word "acknowledge" in the Hebrew (Yada`) means "to learn to know, to seek out" and the Hebrew for "trust" (Batach) is "to have confidence in."

The way I read this verse is this:

Have confidence in Christ (the ultimate representation of the reality of God) with the fullness of your inner man, and don't wholly depend on your own ability to process the information around you, but in everything you do, seek to know him, to learn his character, and he will bring clear direction to whatever direction your life is taking. In short, he will reveal his will to you.

In wrapping this post up, this relates to practicing the presence of God like this:

The more you meditate (chew, swallow, regurgitate, and repeat) on the character of God, the nature of God, and the mind of God (all of which are found in Christ, by the Holy Spirit, who is located simultaneously inside in us while also in direct fellowship with both the Father and the Son), the more God will reveal the "mystery of his divine will" to you, and if God truley is the ultimate representation of love, then the more we know God, the more in-love with God, we will fall.

Wow, I hope all of that makes sense.