I attended the Intentional Disciple-Making Conference (IDMC) just last two days. I expected the conference to inspire us on how we can be faithful to the Great Commission of making disciples. Surprisingly, its central theme was prayer and worship.

I would like to share some of the truths I gleaned from the conference, interwoven with some of my own thoughts and reflections.

We Are Called and Compelled to Worship God

There is no coincidence that the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer is: “To glorify God and enjoy him forever.” One of the clearest ways we glorify God is through praise and worship.

You may wonder: Is God narcissistic to create us so that we can worship him? Far from it. He has myriads upon myriads of angels who worship and serve him. More fundamentally, the Triune God is a community of perfect, overflowing love. He is completely self-sufficient and needs nothing from us.

God created us so that he might share the joy of his love with us. And when we fulfil what we were created to do, we discover that it is also for our highest good.

More importantly, we are compelled to worship God because of what Christ has done for us. Jesus has opened the way for us to enter the Holy of Holies. Through his death and resurrection, we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, and reconciliation with God.

Worship is therefore a gift purchased at an immeasurable price – the precious blood of Christ. We are utterly unworthy to receive it, yet by grace, God has extended this gift to us. How can we not respond with gratitude?

Gratitude is the only reasonable response from those who have been touched by grace.

Gratitude follows grace like thunder follows lightning. Grace brings forth gratitude as surely as a voice produces an echo. Worship is the natural overflow of a grateful heart.

The conference highlighted many situations in which we can pray and praise. Let me highlight three.

1. When We Face Challenges

When we face giants in our lives – in our homes, workplaces, schools, or even in the church where we are called to serve one another – we must pray and worship.

Consider Jehoshaphat. When a vast army came against Judah, he desperately sought the Lord in prayer. God assured him that the battle belonged to him.

Notice what happened:

“Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD… And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.” (2 Chronicles 20:18–19, 22)

Jehoshaphat worshipped before the victory came.

As Max Lucado puts it, “Focus on giants, you stumble. Focus on God, your giants tumble.”

And Corrie ten Boom reminds us: “If you look at the world, you will be distressed; if you look within yourself, you will be depressed; if you look at God, you will be at rest.”

Prayer turns our eyes from the size of our problems to the greatness of our God. Worship reorients our hearts from fear to faith.

2. When Our Families Are Under Spiritual Attack

Prayer and worship are also powerful means of guarding the spiritual well-being of our families, which are constantly under attack by the evil one. Satan knows that when families fall apart, the consequences ripple outward – to the church and to society.

Our weapons are not merely human wisdom or effort but the spiritual weapons God has given us: his Word, “the sword of the Spirit,” and prayer –“praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:17–18).

This is why family devotion matters. We need regular times when families gather to read God’s Word, pray and worship together.

There are many things concerning our children that lie beyond our control. There is no guarantee that our children will remain in the faith. But we pray that they will. And when some wander away, we continue to pray that they will return like the prodigal son.

As we wait, we pray for hearts to be softened, wills to be bent, and eyes to be opened. Only God can do this. We therefore stand in the gap and intercede, trusting that the battle belongs to the Lord.

3. When We Strive for Holy Living

How do we remain holy in the face of temptation and trials?

How can we say “no” to sin – pride, jealousy, anger, selfishness and lust? How do we remain pure when pornography and other temptations are so readily accessible?

Again, prayer and worship.

When temptation comes, we can pray the ancient Jesus Prayer:

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

And if we fall into sin, we can return to him with the same cry for mercy.

When we sing of God’s beauty, holiness and grace, our hearts are lifted beyond the fleeting allure of sin. As we contemplate who God is and what Christ has done for us, we may become so captivated by his goodness and overwhelmed by his grace that we desire to live in a way that pleases him.

And when we walk through difficult valleys, we should continue to praise God. As we sing of his faithfulness, power, love, goodness and sovereignty, our faith is strengthened because our eyes are fixed not on our circumstances but on our unchanging God.

This is also why Sunday worship and prayer meetings are so important. Ironically, when we are discouraged, we may be tempted to withdraw from God’s people. We find it difficult to pray or worship when life is falling apart.

Yet those are precisely the times when we need one another most.

Even when we cannot sing, our brothers and sisters can sing over us. Their faith can carry us until we find the strength to sing again.

Prayer and worship are not merely activities we engage in when we feel spiritual. They are spiritual disciplines through which we commune with our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. They remind us who God is, who we are, and what we were created for.

And we should not wait for a crisis before turning to God. When life is going well, when the seas are calm and blessings abound, we should all the more pray and worship. Why wait for trouble before we draw near to God?

Let our good times be filled with thanksgiving, and our difficult times with trust. Let every season of life become an occasion to magnify the Lord.

As William Temple beautifully puts it:

“To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.”

Perhaps this is the heart of intentional discipleship: to know God, to love God, and to become increasingly like Christ.

And it begins with prayer and worship.

For when we pray, we acknowledge our dependence on God.
When we worship, we declare his worth.
When we praise, we remember his goodness.
And when we do these things together, we are formed into a people whose lives increasingly reflect the One we worship.

We were created to worship.
We were redeemed to worship.
And one day, we will worship God forever.

So let us pray, and let us praise. Not merely because God has given us blessings, but because God himself is worthy.

Soli Deo Gloria – to God alone be the glory.