Preparation 101

Lately, God has challenged me to be reverent as I come into His presence. There were a couple of Sunday mornings that I would be walking into the church building, reciting and repeating Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools who do not know they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth or hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. He is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few." That is how I prepared myself. But that is exactly the problem. I prepared myself. The results of this were pretty ugly. I walked down the halls into the worship service without a smile. I usually didn't wave at anyone, but gave them a solemn tip of my head. To top it off, during the worship, you would find me with my arms crossed and my lips closed during an upbeat song. I wanted to be reverent, but I had no idea what that really meant.
However, last Sunday, I woke up early and left the room by 9:00 am. I drove to the church and parked. I opened my Bible onto my lap, but didn't read it. I bowed my head and spoke to the Lord for about 10 minutes. I just closed my eyes and asked God to prepare my heart. To give me the right attitude as I walked in and to go in with pure motives-- to meet Him there. I spent time inviting Him to meet with us because if He isn't there, there's no reason for us to go inside. After 10 minutes, I decided to walk in and the results were completely different than before. I saw my brother, went to him and gave him a big hug. I wasn't solemn and I didn't ignore anyone. I was happy to be there! This next part is great. The first song played was called "Wake Up the World" and was very upbeat. This time though, you would not have found me with my arms crossed and my smile upside down. You would have found me clapping my hands and praising the Lord, who had just prepared my heart.
Before, I thought reverence meant only slow movements, isolation, and quiet. Although God leads me to these at certain times, He doesn't want me to be rude. When I let Him prepare my heart, He gave me the right attitude about entering His presence and the right motives for doing so.
Psalm 110:4-5 "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His Name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations."