The theme of NAC India’s 2019 calendar is “Prayer”. The monthly calendar texts are based on a doctrinal article by Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider which was published in the community member magazine 04/2018 (starts on page 20). This prayer series explores and elaborates on each month’s topic.
Addressing the Majesty of God
First of all, prayer is comprised of adoration and worship. The experience of the divine, which is omnipotent, majestic, mysterious and sublime, causes man to tremble, but also fascinating him at the same time. Worship occurs before any petitions or intercessions are expressed. Worship is owed primarily to God, because He far transcends anything we can directly experience, and because all limitations are suspended in Him. It is in adoration and worship that the individual approaches the majesty of God in reverence, which comes to expression in terms such as “holiness”, “omnipotence”, and “eternity”.
Examples from the Bible
In both the Old and New Testaments, there are many examples of worship and adoration: “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker” (Psalm 95: 6). Revelation 4: 10–11 relates both the proper posture and language of worship: “[Then] the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne saying: ‘You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.’”
Worshiping the Triune God
In the Old Testament, the only legitimate object of worship is the God of Israel, who is at the same time the Creator of the entire universe. The New Testament establishes that Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are due as much worship as God, the Father. The resurrected and exalted Lord is also to be worshiped. The Holy Spirit is worshipped as the presence of God and the Maker of the new creation.
Exalting the Risen Jesus
The ultimate goal is that all people and nations, as well as all visible and invisible powers of this world, may come to worship the one God (Isaiah 45: 14; Zechariah 14: 9, 16; Psalm 96: 7–9; John 4: 20–24). The risen Jesus Christ is both the exalted Lord, who should be – and is – worshipped. That which was said of God in the Old Testament is now also applied to Christ (Philippians 2: 9–11). At the ascension of the Lord it becomes clear that Jesus Christ is likewise an object of worship: “And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (Luke 24: 52).