ENGAGING GOD

“And you must love the Lord your
God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.”
Mark 12:30
New Living Translation

Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and you were not fully engaged in the dialogue? What I mean is either you were not listening intently or what they were saying did not strike your emotions whatsoever. Have you ever been talking to someone and they were busy doing something else and you felt like you did not have their undivided attention? Could the above examples describe some of your times of worship and prayer with God where you were not fully engaged with Him? A Barna Research group study says only one-third of all church regulars believed they "always" experienced God's presence or intimate interaction with Him during corporate worship times. Certainly, the problem is not with God. The problem may be that very few actually engage God with their heart, soul, mind and strength, or with their whole being.
Jesus said the first and greatest command is that we love God with all of our being. God made us tripartite beings, meaning we are a spirit that possess a soul and live in a body. Worshipping and loving God means that every aspect of our being is fully engaged in worship, privately and corporately. Psalm 103:1 says, “My soul, praise the Lord! Every part of me, praise his holy name!” This is vital to our corporate worship experience because our corporate times of worship will only be as deep and meaningful as our private, individual worship experience. It is vital to engage God fully on all levels all the time. In order for us to experience Him fully, we must be able to yield and surrender fully to Him.
What does it mean to engage God? To engage means ‘to offer, to provide occupation for; to hold the attention of and to engross.’ Therefore, in worship, where we freely offer and express our love to God, we are engrossed with God in our heart, soul, mind and strength. We become fully occupied with His love, glory, splendor, character, holiness and mighty acts.
To engage God with your heart, comprised of the soul and the conscience, means worship becomes an act of the will or volition. You make a choice to worship God. Engaging God with your soul means the emotions are active. You may feel sorrow or conviction of sin, joy, or maybe even laugh or cry. We must be willing and open to respond to God emotionally. Intellectually loving God with the mind means to understand the truths of God’s word, his character and his ways. Finally, engaging God with your strength means to allow your physical body to give expression of your choice to worship, your thoughts of God and your emotions. This would include lifting or clapping your hands, kneeling down, singing and dancing. Release all inhibitions about demonstrative worship.
Engage God today! Yield every part of your being to Him in extravagant worship. The Father is seeking this kind of worship. Will he find you fully engaged with Him?