The purpose of Advent is to prepare our hearts to receive Jesus. One of the most effective ways we can do this is through praising and worshiping him.

When we praise and worship Jesus, we recognize who he is. He is God incarnated as a man who came to earth so that we could know him and be led home to our Heavenly Father. God wants us to know him personally. That’s why Jesus lived among us for 33 years. That’s why we were given the Holy Spirit, God himself alive in us!

Praise focuses us on who God is, and then we can see who we are: God’s beloved sons and daughters, whom Jesus calls friends, and who are destined for complete union with God in Heaven after Jesus comes again.

Our hearts burn at the thought of entering into a deep and eternal love – a love that is pure, passionate, and holy. A love that has no bounds. A love that will fulfill every desire of our hearts.

Though we know relatively little about what Heaven will actually be like, we do know that we’ll be eternally worshiping God. This won’t be a boring worship; to the contrary, it will be vibrant, full of life and joy! In worship we will be united to God. This brings to mind a marriage vow used in some Christian traditions: “…With my body, I thee worship.” Our love for God will be eternally consummated in this perpetual worship (cf. Rev 19:5-9).

The most sublime way we can worship on this side of Heaven is through the Mass. We come to him and he gives himself to us, preeminently in the Eucharist. Every time we prayerfully participate in the Mass, we grow in union with God.

There are many ways in addition to Mass that we can worship God. Upper Room’s Praise & Worship events on Friday nights exist for this purpose, as do other similar events in the area. And you can have a worship session on your own.

From our original DIY Praise & Worship post, adapted for Advent:

Here are three steps to a praise & worship session. I recommend setting aside half an hour in order to enter deeply into prayer and receive what the Lord has for you. Turn off the ringer on your phone and get a pen and paper (for Steps 2 & 3).

Step 1:

Begin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Recognize that you are in his presence! Begin to praise him. A playlist like the one below may be helpful. Let the songs lead you into speaking out your praise in English or in tongues between songs.

Everlasting God:

Even So Come:

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel:

Prepare Him Room:

Step 2:

Worship will lead you into contemplation. Sit with the Lord. Allow him to speak to you. Write down what he says to you or what he does in your heart. Writing will help you focus to receive what he has for you.

Step 3:

Respond to what the Lord said or did in Step 2. What will you do with what he has just given you? How can you thank him? Writing down your response will help you to remember it and to act on it.

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The divine paradox is that as we prepare our hearts to receive Jesus, we find that he is already with us. Emmanuel has already come; in fact it is his Holy Spirit that is enabling us to worship. Yet the longing in our hearts remains, because we know that we are not yet fully living in union with him. And so we continue to prepare our hearts….

By Christy Whiting, Upper Room Director