Worship Like a Child

 “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3, NIV)

Three Girls Kneeling Before The Lord, 2022

Pencil 9”x12”

The Holy Spirit Comforter Conference was back in town last month and I had the privilege of being in attendance! This annual event meets in the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene area to celebrate the Holy Spirit. It is an entire weekend of worship, teaching, fellowship, healing, and prayer... you know, all the good stuff. :)  Last year was my first time experiencing this conference - and boy, was it an experience! Not only did I receive a powerful word from God, but I also received an honest to goodness vision! It was truly incredible. For more on that adventure, check out the Dr. Ziga and His Halo post.

Emmanuel Ziga, 2021

Oil pastel on black mat board

As you can imaging, I was brimming with excitement and anticipation to see what God would do this year. Spoiler Alert: He did not disappoint! 

It was already dark as I walked up to the Davenport Grand Hotel. I came armed with my Bible and my sketch pad. No scribbling on scraps of purse paper for me, this time I was coming prepared! I was excited to see what God was going to do but, at the same time, doubt was already tugging at my mind. The adage “lightning doesn’t strike twice” kept repeating in my head and I began to feel a bit silly. I had already received my miracle last time, what was I doing lugging around my sketchpad expecting another one? In case you didn’t know, this is what the voice of the Enemy sounds like.

We passed several other people carrying bibles along our brisk trek from the parking lot to the Hotel. This was definitely the place. Upon opening the conference room doors, a wonderful sight was revealed - an assembly of over 500 believers! There were Christians from all different walks of life, different churches, and even different countries. They were all gathered together for one purpose - to celebrate God! And celebrate we did. From the first strum of the guitar the room became electric. People began to sing and dance in the Spirit, worshiping God with all their hearts. Young and old danced side by side and were filled with the supernatural joy that only comes from the Holy Spirit. 

One little girl, in particular, shone like a bright little light for God in the mass of people. She danced and twirled totally uninhibited, waving her hands and grinning ear to ear. Make no mistake, this little one was not just dancing for the sake of dancing, she was worshiping. And her joy was infectious. Everyone around her began to smile and giggle at the sight of her precious dance. But she was lost in her own little world of praise, completely undaunted by worry or concern for the opinions of others. Pretty soon other people began to join her and not just children, but older folks too. They jumped up and down and laughed and sang in a totally pure expression of praise.

The exuberant worship was spreading like wildfire. In fact, so many people got up to dance that the floorboards of the old hotel began to flex to the beat of the music. The flexing floor made my body bob to the rhythm even though I was basically standing still. It was as though everyone was dancing, whether they were trying to or not. In this moment, Nehemiah’s words “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10) became very real.  Our praise became my weapon. Each beat of the music pounded away at the Enemy’s lies and they fell away one by one. Every thought of doubt and insecurity fell off my mind and drifted to the floor like scraps of paper - flat and lifeless illusions, with no dimension or weight of their own. 

So many incredible things happened that night, truly too many for a single blog post. The worship was off the hook, and the sermon was mind-blowing (and a story for another time), but it was witnessing the worship of the children that immediately captivated my attention. These kids were praising God in a way that we should all aspire to. And why not? After all, ALL who ask and call on the name of Jesus have the same powerful Spirit of The Living God residing in them, regardless of their age. As Paul put it in his letter to the Romans: "the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him” (Romans 10:12, NIV). The Holy Spirit isn’t somehow watered down and His gifts are not inaccessible to kids because they are young. But unlike adults, these little ones came before God with totally pure motivation. They were not fishing for a blessing, or trying to impress their neighbors with how holy they were, these kids simply wanted to praise God. And not only that, but these sweet children were completely free of self-conscious thoughts about their “image” and how their actions would be interpreted by the people around them. They just wanted to spend time with God, so they did. When they felt the prompting to kneel down and pray, they just did. When they felt the desire to dance and sing, they just did. 

Later, as I reflected on the night’s events, I realized that this was exactly what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 18. In the same way that a colorful illustration can bring life to the words of a story book, what I saw that night painted a beautiful picture which helped me to understand Jesus’ words to the disciples in a more complete way. 

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

(Matthew 18:1-5, NIV)

This week, I pray that we all become like children. May we approach the throne of God with pure motivation. Let’s dance and sing to God totally unencumbered by self-conscious concerns. And when the Spirit prompts us to do something, let’s just do it!