Showcase Saturday: Worship With Me

Happy Showcase Saturday!!

This week for our very first showcase, Christian Women Living Magazine wanted to introduce a new segment that will run on the morning of the first Sunday of the month. It comes from our International Content Manager Joy Matienzo and is titled “Worship with Me.” In the past, Joy has ran a series of videos that focused on encouraging us to worship no matter where we are or what day of the week we are standing in. With this segment, Joy will be using a short inspirational article as well as a video to encourage worship in our daily lives. Here is the 1^st article in the segment…

Your Own Altar Call

You may or may not have attended a church that gave “Altar Calls” during the worship or at the end of the pastor’s message. The idea is to give the congregation the opportunity to come to the front near the stage to make a symbolic gesture of surrendering to the Lord whatever is on their heart, to make a commitment to follow Christ or to receive prayer ministry from the prayer team/leaders or simply soak in God’s presence. At the “altar” a person may stand, kneel or even lay on the floor, pray or cry. In some churches they make it clear when it’s time to return to your seat. In others you can stay there as long as you want. 

This time at the altar is a break. A moment of rest. A moment to focus on what God wants to do in your heart without the distractions that you would have if you had remained in your seat. 

Now that many of us have been going to church online for the past 2 years or due to health protocols inside the church, those who loved themselves an Altar Call have not had the chance to experience one in quite a while. 

Full disclosure, my favorite Altar Calls are the ones where you can go up and lay on the floor as long as you want. Relaxing. Taking a break. Listening. Allowing the Holy Spirit to minister to my heart. 

What if I told you that you don’t need to be at church to experience the presence of God in this way? A lot of people listen to worship music while doing their devotions or going about their day, which is very encouraging, but not quite the same. 

I’m not talking about setting up a shrine in your home or something formal and religious. I’m talking about simply setting aside some time and maybe even a special spot (closet, corner of the room, corner of the yard, bathroom – wherever you can escape to be alone) where you can “come to the altar” and seek God. 

You don’t need a church leader to lay hands on you to receive ministry from the Holy Spirit. God wants to meet you right where you are. When we set aside a special time to be quiet and just listen and surrender whatever we need to surrender, it is a literal break. A time of rest. A “time out” if you will. A moment without distractions to focus on what God wants to do in our hearts.

Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” When we emerge from our special time with Jesus we will also see the fruit of the spirit growing in our lives. 

I want to encourage you. Don’t wait for your church to open back up, or to lighten up on the health protocols. Maybe you have never experienced an Altar Call, but it sounds like something you would like to experience. 

Have your own Altar Call! And do it as often as you want. Find a space where you can be alone for whatever amount of time you have, play some of your favorite worship music and soak in God’s presence. Listen. Surrender. Worship. Receive from Him. It’s okay if you fall asleep. =) 

Here is a YouTube playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhdT9WZC_GnNWnra4vs-psk81hPjA6vP

Here is one for the Spotify users https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5wvkDPb6QLQmjHXmFMdhWl?si=7NGmEy5sRmufRmb4vUcIZg

If you prefer instrumental this one on youtube is great.