When was the last time you walked around a shopping mall? Consider for a second that even in the world of online shopping, the mall is one of the most frequented “religious” sites of the 20th and early 21st centuries. The buildings are often grandiose; the interiors are inviting and over-decorated; they operate on a yearly calendar marked by sales, holidays, and events meant to attract more people to worship at the shopping “temple.” Stores contain images that are designed to make you see all the “blessings” that you would receive as a reward for your sacrifice. A mall isn’t the only modern thing or place that operates as a temple. Amazon functions similarly, creating rituals like Prime Day to entice you to browse products that lead to a blessed life. Restaurants, schools, and televisions all have the same basic principle; they show us images of what we believe will be a better life and try to get us to give something up to attain it. The common thread between all of these things is the object of worship: ourselves. In the western world it is incredibly easy to have ritualistic self-centered worship without even realizing it. Our identities are constantly under attack by the culture the rulers of darkness have established.
It is easy today to practice what I would call “thinking our way to heaven.” The current Christian landscape is full of sayings such as: “Trust God,” “Focus on your relationship with Christ,” “Let Go and Let God.” While I am not debating the importance or validity of doing these things, when we say these things we often leave out how to do these things. God, however, knew exactly how to do those things and it was with daily ritual worship. The Hebrew Bible is full of rituals, locations, festivals, repetitive prayers and more that God established in order to combat what he knew would be Israel’s downfall—overexposure to the culture around them that made new generations forget who God was. The book of Exodus has an underlying theme of God using Moses to draw the Israelites out and make them a nation whose identity is “God’s people.” Perhaps rituals are one of the ways God intends to change our identity as well. The Passover seems out of place in Exodus compared to the often fast-moving and powerful narrative that precedes it. During this miraculous redemption story is the establishment of this ritualistic memorial day that marks a total shift in Israelite lives and their calendar (Exodus 12:3). Perhaps that is just what we need today: ritual-style habits of worshiping God to replace our worship of culture.
Jesus told his disciples, in Matthew 16:24, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. The original Greek does not indicate that they should walk behind him step for step but that they would observe, imitate, and obey how he lives, how he acts, and most importantly how he worships. It is easy to look at Jesus’s life and only see the extraordinary. We focus on the miracles, the generosity, and the sacrifice and often neglect to look at the ways he did and didn’t worship. Yet, we consistently see Jesus worshiping all throughout the stories of his life in both the way he acts and in the rituals, customs, and habits he keeps. Jesus is found keeping the Sabbath while reading Scripture and debating it with those around him (Luke 4:16-22). He taught in synagogues frequently (Matthew 4:23), traveled for festivals (John 7), and celebrated Passover. Perhaps the most revealing acts of worship are his prayers. Jesus prayed first thing in the morning (Mark 1:35), withdrew alone to pray (Luke 5:16), prayed before decisions (Luke 6:12), prayed with and for others (John 17), and taught others how to pray. It is this teaching that shows us what we need to establish our identities as Jesus’s followers.
Matthew records the command as, “Pray then like this” (Matthew 6:9), after a discussion on how not to pray. This prayer not only serves as a prayer to understand and to say, but as an attitude to have while praying. It is meant to shape us and help us find our identity. A simple seven-petition prayer, when used as daily habitual worship, can completely alter our entire attitude and actions. Allow me to paraphrase in order to demonstrate the impact. “Our creator in heaven, I will live to make your name holy. I will spread your kingdom so earth can be more like heaven. Give me what I need in the present moment; I rely on you to do that. I will forgive others because you have forgiven me. Produce in me fruit of righteousness so I don’t even think about sin. You rescue me from every evil work and put me in your hands.” These are not repetitive words to say to be seen by men but habitual worship that changes us into worshipers of God instead of worshipers of things. Everyone is going to worship someone or something; the danger is worshiping something to identify with the world. If you’ve been guilty of worshiping the things of the world, try finding someone today and asking them to join you in making a habit of identity changing prayer.
