September 1 – LD 35, Day 6: Private Worship of God

Read Deuteronomy 6

Even though the Second Commandment is especially about the public worship of God, in and by the church, this does not exclude the private worship of God by individual believers. We know that the second commandment also addresses private worship because image worship begins in the heart and imaginations of man. It is firstly a private sin. For our worship of God to be in Spirit, and in truth, it must also be a private matter.

Yes, the Second Commandment is fulfilled by God's covenant people when they come together for public worship. Too many people today think that this is not necessary, and think that they can worship God on their own or with their family, and they never join with other believers. But Heb 10:25 admonishes us not to forsake the gathering of ourselves together.

All the same, there is a private aspect to our worship of God. This begins with the individual Christian living and walking with God in prayer, in the private reading of God's Word, in personal study of Christian and theological materials, and in a deep and constant consciousness of living before the Lord, and serving Him with thankfulness for His salvation.

This extends to the believer's home and family life too. In the home, believing husbands and wives, believing parents and children, believing brothers and sisters open the Word of God together and spend time in prayer together. Deut 6:7 describes this as a constant, almost habitual part of the life of the Christian home - “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thouwalkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

It's important that we do not become “church-dependent”. Then we leave all study of the Word to the minister and church. Our religious activity, because we are so busy, becomes limited to church activities. In the end, we depend on an institution, rather than on God Himself.

If one has a truly robust personal walk with God, then he will not be “church-dependent,” but rather, he will be a true contributor to the worship and life of the church.