Apostolic Pentecostal Church

Inmates in prison often refer to their stay in prison as doing time. They are in prison against their will and want out as soon as it can be arranged. The question is, are you spending time with the Lord or just doing time?

The scriptures tell us that Samuel as a young child ministered unto the Lord (I Samuel 3:1). The angel found Zachariah standing by the altar of incense ministering before the Lord when he announced to him that his wife, Elizabeth, would have a son. Could it be that ministering before the Lord is a good place for us to find revelation and insight?

Our consumer driven society demands instant service and instant answers to their needs; however, a deep walk with God will never come instantaneously. Our western culture has never promoted waiting for anything. Consequently, we have become a very impatient people.

It is difficult enough for us to learn to wait for answers to prayer, but waiting before the Lord? Just sitting in His presence, entertaining and ministering to Him with worship? It’s unthinkable in this driven era. We often only have time for a quickie prayer before rushing out the door to our next appointment.

Prayer is conversing with God. A monologue is what happens when only one person is speaking. Often our prayers become nothing more than a monologue of our shopping list. We then expect Him to dutifully fulfill all of our requests. This style of prayer reduces God to the level of a holy vending machine. When we insert the proper phrases and make the appropriate physical motions, instantly, out pops our answer. And then, we are off to our next destination without giving Him any opportunity to respond.

Good cooks love to cook for hungry people. But consider for a moment how a cook would feel if, after spending hours preparing a delicious meal for a hungry family member, who without a word said, simply hoovered down the meal in minutes and then rushed out the door. No thank you, or even a smile. Just rush out the door. That kind of behavior would be viewed by most people as unbelievably rude.

In the same way, are we being rude to consume God’s blessings and provisions and not spend time cultivating His presence? We have been called to be ministers in the sanctuary. We are personally responsible for creating the atmosphere in which our God loves to dwell. We have great encouragement in the Psalms to worship the Lord from our heart because He is worthy (Psalm 95:6,7). If we seek His face, the King of Glory will come in (Psalm 24:6,7).

The Jews believed that, in the time of the Messiah, all sacrifices, except the sacrifice of praise, should cease. Jesus is the last blood sacrifice, which God will ever accept. For the New Testament believer, there is no sacrifice that he may bring before the Lord except the sacrifice of praise. The fruit of our lips is the sacrifice of praise. This is the replacement of the Levitical sacrificial system. “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name”(Hebrews 13:15).

“But thou art holy, O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel (Psalm 22:3). God chooses to dwell, remain, sit or abide wherever He is lifted up in the praises of His people. The people of the Lord can literally cause Him to sit down and remain in their presence by lifting up hymns of praise and songs of adoration.

We need to examine our prayer times to be sure we are not treating the Creator of all things with less than the honor that He is due. Psalm 100 contains the formula for success in the courts of His Royal Majesty, the King of Kings.

100:1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endures to all generations.