Six ways to find worship creatively.

1. Attend a different service or church. Unless you are employed by your church and obligated to be at a certain service, this is easy to do. For one week, go to an unfamiliar church that has different traditions than you are accustomed to. Sing different songs and listen to a different pastor speak. Maybe find a church that incorporates drama or praise dance. Watch, listen and let your guard down to embrace the scene around you. You might be surprised to find that a different type of worship speaks to your heart and connects you to God in a way you’ve never experienced before. 

2. Speak non-memorized prayers from the heart. At mealtimes, forgo the memorized “God is great, God is good prayer,” and avoid cliches of “blessing the hands that prepared” the food. There is nothing wrong with these prayers, but you can easily spice things up by singing a blessing or going around the table and having each person thank God for a part of the meal. The rest of the the time, engage God in conversation all day, every day. Here is a tip from me: I rarely say “amen.” That utterance of “let it be so” gives me a feeling of finality to my prayer. And I don’t ever want to finish my conversation with God. 

3. Start a prayer journal. In it, don’t just write your prayers. Write scriptures, write prayer requests for others, write a praise poem, or whatever else you feel will connect you to God in worship. Use Philippians 4:8 to inspire your writing: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”

4. Add art into the mix. If you are artistic, create something while listening to music that brings you closer to God or while listening to a recording of scripture. As you paint, sculpt, knit, quilt, craft, or create any other type of art, meditate on scripture and think about the amazing gift that God gave you when He made your hands. Let the wonder creation inspire your work, and see the incredible art that can come out of it. 

5. Embrace nature. For those of you who love the outdoors, you can worship while in God’s creation, instead of inside a church building. Go to a local trail or park and pray with your eyes open to the wonders around you. Look at the grass, the trees, any sources of water, and animals. Marvel in the fact that God made it all. Here in the middle of God’s creation, you can pray, you can sing, or you can just take a moment and enjoy everything He made for you. 

6. Worship with your body. Walk. Run. Bike. Swim. Dance. Try a Christian yoga class (a yoga class that focuses on centering your heart on God). Whatever active interests you have, dedicate them to God. Pray before you begin the activity, and take time to thank God for the ability to move. You can even do your activities to God’s glory by challenging yourself with a charity run or walk. Embrace the interests you have because God is the one who gave them to you. 

We all want to grow in our faith and progress in our faith journeys. One way to do this is having the courage to try something new. Remember that there is no wrong way to worship, but that worship can be found everywhere! Take a chance by leaving your comfort zone and worshiping in a different way. God will be pleased by your worship, and you may find yourself closer to God than ever before.