Contemplatio:Accident Waiting to Happen or Intentional On Purpose?

By Jeff Slaughter
Director of the European Worship Institute
This blog is part two of a five-part series.

As worship ministry leaders, we don’t want to be ‘Sunday morning worshippers’, only giving God His due from the platform once a week. We want to live in His presence every day. But often, life gets in the way and we forget that. What might help us remember to walk more closely with Him?

Here’s a thought:
To live in His presence, we need to be intentional.

Genesis 12:8 (NIV)
“From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.”

Abraham wanted to mark the spot where he was going to meet with God. He wanted to remember it and find it again. The best way for him to do this was to build an altar – a physical place that he could touch, feel, remember his experience with God.

Abraham was intentional about meeting with God. He stopped. He chose a place. He gathered materials and built a place where He could spend time with God.

What does this mean to us? Although we should constantly live in His presence – be aware of Him, His voice, praying; we should also designate time during the day to spend with Him. Designate a place. Plan what we’re going to do to get to know Him better. Be intentional about it  – not accidental or careless.

Too often we seek the Lord when we need Him, not out of regular discipline. But if we’re intentional, His presence becomes the very core of our being. It’s what we think about when we go to bed and when we wake up. We’re constantly aware of Him being a part of our everyday life.

So as a daily discipline, let’s be intentional about living in His presence.

It’s true…We’re either an accident waiting to happen or we’re being intentional on purpose!