23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. John 4:23 (ESV)
This verse represents Jesus' first teaching on the subject of prayer and, oddly enough, it was addressed not to a Jew, but to a Samaritan.
In his book, Lord, Teach Us to Pray, Andrew Murray writes, " We look for correspondence between the object and the organ to which it reveals or yields itself. The eye has an inner fitness for light, the ear for sound. Because God is Spirit, we must worship in spirit. . . As God is, so His worshipper."
In verse 21, Jesus alerts the woman of a seismic shift in the worship of God. No longer would a specific place or time be connected to the worship of God. The temple or fixed alter would become relics of a bygone era. Jerusalem, while even today a city that holds a special place in the hearts of Jews and Christians alike, is no more a center of worship than Buffalo, Missouri.
A corner office can serve as a temple. An engine lift in a garage can become a spontaneous alter. Anywhere a child of God needs to enter into the Holy of Holies with his Father is a place of worship. Our spirit worships God. Not our location.
As I am beginning to learn, worship is more than prayer. I have been taught in the earliest of my Sunday School classes that I could pray anywhere, any time. But worship, to me, denotes a far deeper coming together. Worship is honest and open. Worship praises and thanks. Worship is focused and meaningful. Worship is an attitude. Worship is constant.
Prayer is situational. Worship is lifestyle. Prayer focuses on specifics. Worship is overarching.
We worship God with our thoughts. Our actions. Our emotions.
Worship is the umbrella under which all Christians should take shelter. Prayer is one of the ribs of an umbrella.
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