Staying engaged during worship times

This article/blog goes along with Justin's video about "Staying engaged during worship sets" found under the videos page

I find that one of the hardest things for me to do as a worship leader is to actually engage my heart in the corporate worship times that I’m leading. As time passes by it’s so easy to simply get into coast mode and not really engage my spirit with what I’m doing.

The Lord in His kindness so many times still speaks through us and uses us to touch others because He loves the people and wants them to be ministered to. But I don’t want to just settle for God using me to touch others; I want to maximize my time of leading worship and actually encounter the Lord myself! 

I have to constantly remind myself of the primary reason why I’m singing, playing, or leading. Whether the room is full of people, or whether there isn’t another soul in the room, whether I have a band, or whether I don’t have anyone else on the worship team, I am playing before the same audience – One Man. It is His eyes I want to catch and it is His heart I want to touch.

Though singing prophetic words over people is cool and leading people into a corporate exaltation of Jesus is amazing, we must constantly remind ourselves of why we’re doing what we do.

This is a challenge because our natural human nature is that once we do something for long enough we lose focus and many times our hearts naturally disconnect from what we’re actually doing. It takes a constant effort in our hearts to connect with the Lord and a consistency in prayer to encounter Him.

Here are a few practical things that have helped me over the years to keep my heart engaged while leading or singing: 

     1. Sing/pray in the spirit – Pray in your prayer language (tongues). Fellowship with the Holy Spirit who is dwelling on the inside of    
         you.

     2. Read the Sermon on the Mount – I started this a while back, that whenever I’m singing a set the first thing I do when I get on 
         stage is open my Bible and read Matthew 5, 6, and 7. This helps me jump start my set with some focus and helps me align my heart.  

     3. Sing the songs & choruses from your heart – really try and engage your heart with the words that you’re singing. Don’t let it
         become just a mindless act. 

     4. Pray – don’t underestimate the power of a 30 second prayer before your worship time!

© 2010 Justin Rizzo