Enter God’s Presence with Thanksgiving and Praise

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psalm 100:4 (NIV)

Someone once compared a worship service to having an audience with a king. This person said that when one meets a king, strict protocol must be observed, otherwise one would not be considered worthy. In the same way, when we gather to worship God, we must remember that we are having an audience with the King of Kings. Thus, we must follow certain biblical and spiritual rules.

When studying Psalm 100, we get the impression that it is inappropriate for us to barge into God’s holy presence without taking the proper actions and necessary steps. God is willing to meet us anywhere, anyplace, and anytime, but we need to come into His presence with a heart and mind, a body and soul, that acknowledges the presence of the King. Isn’t it interesting that we are willing to wait for hours, standing in line, to catch a glimpse of some earthly figure or celebrity; yet we give less concern to properly coming into the presence of God? We should remember that a spiritual protocol must be followed for whoever wants to enter into the presence of the King.

When we come to worship, our agenda is to meet God, and God’s agenda is to meet with us. That is why Psalm 100:1-2 mention that we are to raise our voices in the presence of God and shout for joy because He is among us. We are to serve God by ascribing to Him the honor and adoration that is due to Him because He is God. We are also to draw near to Him in singing to express our gladness and joy. Acknowledging God is also important in our worship (v. 3). We have to remind ourselves as to whom God is, and, at the same time, we have to remember who we are, too. He is the Creator; we
are the created. He is the Shepherd; we are the sheep. He is the LORD; we are His people. We are completely dependent on Him for everything. In other words, He is God; we are not.

As we enter God’s presence, we enter His gates with thanksgiving; we thank God for what He has done (v. 4). Once through the gates, the worshipper enters the courts with praise; we extol God for who He is. We get a sense of movement from the outside to the inside, moving closer to the presence of God. As we move closer to God, our praise is transformed into true worship. True worship involves not only acknowledging God and ascribing Him praise and thanksgiving, it also involves us falling at His feet. We must fall at His feet because He is our King; He is our good, gracious, and kind King (v. 5). He is and should be the only object of our worship.

On November 28th, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. This holiday is a time for us to thank God for who He is and what He has done. It is also a time for us to reassess and reflect upon our worship life. When we come together for worship, we should realize that we are being granted a great privilege to have an audience with the King of Kings. Let us not take such opportunities for granted. Let us do what is needed, following the right protocol, to meet with Him in heartfelt gratitude and bountiful praise.

Wishing you all a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!
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With love and prayers,
Rev. Christopher Phil Daniel
Vicar, Jerusalem Mar Thoma Church
Connecticut