In Spirit and In Truth

"Now we know that God heareth not sinners but if any man be a worshiper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth" (John 9:11)

We need to double our efforts to tell the world that God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

It must be by the Holy Spirit and truth. We cannot worship in the spirit alone, for the spirit without truth is helpless.

We cannot worship in truth alone, for that would be theology without fire.

Worship must be in spirit and in truth!

If must be the truth of God and the Spirit of God. When a person, yielding to God and believing the truth of God, is filled with the Spirit of God, even his faintest whisper will be worship.

I can offer no worship wholly pleasing to God if I know that I am harboring elements in my life that are displeasing to Him. I cannot truly and joyfully worship God on Sunday and not worship Him on Monday. I repeat my view of worship - no worship is wholly pleasing to God until there is nothing in me displeasing to God.

~A. W. Tozer~

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As Holy As I Want to Be

"I dwell in the high and holy place ... to revive the spirit of the humble, and to resolve the heart of the contrite ones" (Isaiah 57:15)

Among revival-minded Christians I have heard the saying, "Revivals are born after midnight."

This is one of those proverbs which, while not quite literally true, yet points to something very true.

If we understand the saying to mean that God does not hear our prayer for revival made in the daytime, it is of course not true. If we take it to mean that prayer offered when we are tired and worn-out has greater power than prayer made when we are rested and refreshed, again it is not true.

Yet there is considerable truth in the idea that revivals are born after midnight, for revivals come only to those who want them badly enough. It may be said without qualification that every man is as holy and as full of the Spirit as he wants to be.

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart;
Wean it from earth, through all its pulses move;
Stoop to my weakness, might as Thou art,
And make me love Thee as I ought to love.

~A. W. Tozer~