How to Prepare for a Sunday Church Service?
Remember the last time you prepared for an event before attending it? It could be an interview, a meeting, an annual day program, or a party where you had to speak.
But have you ever thought of preparing yourself for a Sunday service? You may say, “A Sunday service, what is there to be prepared for?!” You may say, “I have nothing to do on a Sunday except hear the Word, so it doesn’t require any preparations.”
Dear sister, if you think that way, then you miss out a lot on a Sunday service, more than you realize. Preparation before a Sunday service sets you up to receive more than what a regular church attender can.
When you go for a Sunday service, you need to be very intentional about receiving from God, and you will be amazed at how God speaks to you and your situation.
Want to have encounters with God during the Sunday service? Want to receive a breakthrough Word for your situation? Here are 4 ways you can prepare yourself:
1/ Prepare your heart
“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7
Preparations start from your heart. The priority is not really about what you are going to wear for the service, though that also matters because you are going to meet with the King of kings.
But sometimes, we tend to focus so much on preparing on the outside that we neglect to prepare our hearts to encounter and hear God.
What is in your heart at the moment? What are you pondering on?
What are you more concerned about? What is your motive for going to a Sunday service? Is it to hear from God, understand Him better, celebrate and worship Him, or go for the sake of it as a habit?
Are you going to impress a man or meet a friend, or are you going to have this date with the Father?
The best way to prepare your heart for a service is to talk to God heart-to-heart before the service. And He knows what’s in your heart. Your heart needs to be hungry and asking God to speak to you on this day.
The Word of God says in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
If you are not blessed on a Sunday service it’s because you came unprepared and you weren’t hungry.
Be desperate and joyful and say, God, I am coming to enjoy You, to love You, and to hear what You have to say for me. I want to grow and be just like You!
2/ Ask Questions
The second way to prepare is by asking God questions.
“After three days they found Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.”
Luke 2:46
Wow! Jesus was found listening and asking questions.
During one season of my life, I used to travel almost 2 hours by train for a Sunday service. And that was the best time because I would ask God questions and talk to Him. And it is amazing how God would use my Pastor to answer these questions.
I never had to go to him personally and ask, but the Holy Spirit would hear all my conversations in the train and speak through my Pastor during the sermon. I received a lot of guidance, corrections, direction, and encouragement. God is so awesome!
God just needs one hungry person, and He can make the whole sermon for that person.
God is not limited to just using your Pastor; He can talk through a church member; He can speak to you during worship or prayer, or He can begin to speak to your spirit even as you enter the doors of your church – that’s what preparation can do!
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Mathew 7:7-8
3/ Pray
The third way to prepare for a service is to pray. Prayer is the same as talking to Him, but here you are praying intentionally for certain things:-
1. Ask God to prepare your heart and give you focus.
2. Ask forgiveness for any sins or if you forgot to speak to Him the whole week!
3. Ask God to speak to you or give you direction or confirmation.
4. Ask God to give you a Now Word from the man of God.
5. Pray for others that they, too, will receive and that none will miss the Word due to any distractions.
6. Pray in tongues.
4/ Serve
The other way to prepare is to come early and serve. Help in any way, keep the house clean, arrange the chairs, greet people, see where the need is, and be available. Remember, you are a daughter of the house and not a visitor; God’s house = your house.
Dear sister, if you can prepare yourself well spiritually and physically, your Sunday services will be more exciting. Let us know what are some ways you prepare before a service? We love to hear from you!
XOXO,
Alisha Joji
By signing up I agree to have my personal information transfered to Mad Mimi (more information)
