How to Worship God in a COVID-19 World

David Reyes

Welcome to the new world! Are you tired of attending a worship gathering online yet? I hope not. But if you are, here are some practical ways you can look forward to worshiping God with other believers online.

One of my goals as a worship leader is to help people reach greater intimacy with God through worship, especially worship through song. If you’ve ever been to a Wednesday night prayer and worship gathering (pre-COVID-19) then you might have heard me say “press pause on whatever you got going on” Well the reason is because more often than not, our minds are racing with things we did, things we didn’t do and things we got to do.

Spending time with God is unlike anything else we do, or at least it should be. Our lives are frantic and fast-paced! Some would call it organized chaos. Haha! For most of us, our lifestyle is anything but calm, slow-paced and relaxed. But this is not an article about “how to slow down.” Instead of talking about why you should slow your life down (cause you’re not gonna, cmon… be real) I want to talk about… the pause button.

We all have a pause button. There is something that each of us enjoy doing so much that makes us pause our entire life just to give it our undivided attention. It’s different for everybody but you already know all about it.

And I’m not saying “modern day Christians love sports (or some other niche market) more than they love God!” I know that’s not the case. I know its challenging when you’ve got a million things on your mind, tons of to-do’s, work stuff, family stuff, to just… pause.

I get it, it’s hard to press pause on life - even if it’s just for a few minutes. It’s even harder when you’re sitting on your couch at home and just “watching” the gathering. It doesn’t matter if you’re at home, in your car or in a building with other believers, it’s hard.

Isn’t that how life is though? If it’s worth it, it’s probably difficult to attain.

I won’t go into my whole story but the short (and out of context) version is that about 7 years ago I lost 125lbs. Yup, that’s like a whole teenager. Anyways, no tricks, no gimmicks, no pills, no fad diet… none of that. Just (you guessed it) hard work. So my point is, anything that’s worthwhile takes hard work.

So the only thing I can really tell you is how amazing it is when you do press pause and give God your undivided attention.

When I think about spending time with God, the word that comes to mind is rest. Whenever I spend time with God, it’s as if my body, mind and soul find rest. My body actually feels more relaxed, my mind feels renewed and my soul is content. Even when I sing out God’s praises at the top of my lungs or I shout out a HALLELUJAH, I find… rest.

The psalmist David explains it perfectly in Psalm 23. The more I follow God and walk closely with Him the more rest I find. Spending quality time with God should be a part of our daily routine. And a portion of our “spending time with God” we get to do together as a church.

So press pause on life so you can focus your attention on worshiping God and listening to Him speak to you!

While it may be challenging to do this without gathering in the building, there are some things you can do to make gathering online more sacred and meaningful.

Here are a few practical tips that I received from some friends here at ECC that may help you press pause and enter into the presence of God in worship:

Pray
Talk with God! Praying is a powerful tool to help set the tone.

  • Pray before the gathering and ask God to speak to you

  • Pray together as a family and ask God to open your hearts and minds

Peace and Quiet
Find a quiet space in the house to avoid distractions

  • Use headphones

  • Turn on your device's “do not disturb” feature

 Pick your Time
All gatherings are recorded and available shortly after the live broadcast has finished.

  • Join the gathering at a later, more convenient time (maybe after the kiddos have fallen asleep)

 Light a Candle
God is present in our lives and the candle reminds us our church community is also worshiping with us

  • Light one family candle and each member holds a smaller one

  • Light one candle near the TV you are watching the live stream on

Journal
Journaling is a good way to express feelings, thoughts, or emotions that are hard to verbalize

  • Spend quality time journaling just before, during the gathering, or after the gathering

  • Keep a family journal to write down questions during the gathering that you can discuss together later

Blanket (Prayer Shawl)
Similar to the tasseled garments found in Numbers 15, the prayer shawl was a reminder of God’s laws. Today, it reminds us of the fulfillment of God’s law through Jesus.

  • Find a ‘prayer shawl’ around your house.

  • You can place it on your shoulders when you are praying, this can represent our lives being hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).

Painting/Coloring

  • For people who like to be creative - this may be a fun way to express praise to God. Let the Holy Spirit move your paint brush

  • This is fun for kids and is a good family activity when done together

Essential Oils
Smells are associated with memories and this can help your mind realize what time it is and helps your body respond.

  • Try diffusing the same blend every time you worship.

 

I hope you find some of these suggestions helpful. Some might be awkward at first, but you can always try and if it doesn’t work for you, it’s ok!

The one thing I hope you do try is listening and being obedient to the Holy Spirit. Let him lead you to worship the Father exactly how He wants to be worshiped.

I can’t wait to worship God with you, in-person. Until then, let’s worship Him together at a distance.

David

David Reyes