April 29

Acceptable Worship

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. — Matt 5:23-24 BSB

Before we kneel to pray in private, begin our worship in church, or approach the Lord’s table, there is something we need to do first. We should look inward at our own hearts before we look upward to God’s face. Are we ready to pray? Have we removed any obstacles? Is our heart prepared for worship? The worship that pleases God the most is one that comes from a heart full of love. He isn’t impressed by sacrifices, rituals, or ceremonies if our hearts are full of bitterness. He has no interest in our professions of love for Him if we hate our brother or sister. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For if he doesn’t love his brother, whom he has seen, how can he love God, whom he hasn’t seen?”

If we want our worship to be acceptable to God, we must come into His presence with hearts free of bitterness, anger, wrath, or malice. Every time we approach God in prayer, we should first examine ourselves. If we remember that we have wronged someone, or that there is tension or conflict between us and someone else, we should seek reconciliation before we pray. At the very least, we must ensure that our own hearts are cleansed of bitterness before coming to God’s altar. This rule helps keep our hearts free from anger. The apostle Paul advises us not to let the sun go down on our anger. We shouldn’t let any day end with anger still in our hearts. We might not see another day, and we shouldn’t lie down to sleep with bitterness in our hearts. Our evening prayer should cleanse us of all anger, as we pray, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”