Are You Prepared?

As a worship leader, what are the elements or steps you take as you prepare for a morning worship set or any other time to sing out or play your instrument or lead?  Being present and available is important...rehearsal time...song choice...understanding the purpose for which you are leading worship on this occasion...who you are leading...how to move from one song to the next and so on.  It can become extremely overwhelming once you take a step back and look at the entire process, UNLESS you are prepared.  How can we as worship leaders accomplish such a huge task?  By being prepared.

How do we prepare as worship leaders.  It begins with you humbling yourself and asking God to speak to your heart.  It begins with you getting out of the way and asking God to reveal himself to you.  We have no idea what God is going to do in and through you as a worship leader, so in preparing, we simply ask God to show us, reveal to us and to lead us as we prepare.  I was reading a daily blog today by Jim Denison.  Here is a great example of how we are worship leaders are encouraged to prepare.  "A great evangelist was asked how revival begins.  His answer: Go home, draw a circle around yourself, and pray until everything inside that circle is right with God.  When it is, revival will be upon us."  It all begins with us first being still before God first, not choosing the perfect song, or the coolest song, or the greatest transition to lead people.  No, it begins with a humble heart.

When was the last time you took time to draw a circle around yourself and prayed to God?  We are so consumed with planning that we can easily forget to be still before the Lord.  Psalm 46:9-11 says, "He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."  Let us not get the cart before the horse, as my parents would tell me.  Pray, seek God and allow Him to take the initiative with your life.  Then we will be prepared as worship leaders.