Embrace Worship: Atmosphere

It started off like most morning sessions at the New Room Conference. Worship. Prayer. Teaching. The speaker paced as she pieced together bits of her story, lacing it full of Scripture – when suddenly the atmosphere in the room shifted. Something unspoken. And holy. 

Within minutes the flow of people to the front altar went from a few drips to full-on flood. There’d been no invitation, no talk of coming forward. In fact, our speaker was mid-talk. But she caught-on to the atmosphere change and flowed with it, laying down the microphone to kneel and pray with people who’d thrown themselves before the Lord. 

The room was undone. Holy-Spirit-presence filled the air, flooded our hearts. Loud cries of repentance lifted high. Sobs of relief punctuated the thrum of worshiping, praying voices. Hiccups of joy only turned up the holiness volume in the room. 

The agenda long abandoned, everyone in the room gave-in to what the Author of All Our Lives had in mind. I can speak for myself, and trust others would agree – we were forever changed.

Atmosphere. Beyond the air we breathe or the layers of unseen gases surrounding our planet, atmosphere describes the pervading feel of a place – hostile or peaceful, fearful or love-filled, hopeless or faith-full. The place might be a sanctuary, a home, workplace, neighborhood, or even our hearts and minds. Wherever we are, there’s a feel to the place. And mysteriously, it’s often discernable by the people present – even if only subconsciously. 

It’s interesting to consider atmosphere as we seek to embrace worship; it is an odd little concept. Maybe because it’s not concrete – like an altar or a well. Maybe because it feels subjective – we can’t touch or see it. We can’t even quantify it, not really. Yet, it is a reality in every room and space. Like the time I…

…pulled up at a rival’s stadium for a Friday night football playoff game. And before I put a foot on the ground, I could feel the excitement in the air, crackling like electricity.

…stepped into a conference room for a meeting – and right into an invisible cloud of tension. My heart pounded as I took a chair. And crossed my arms.

…walked into a tiny store with my two little boys in tow when the oppressive feeling of evil enveloped me. So we turned and left.

Atmosphere might not be seen, but it can be felt. It can influence our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. And it can shift in an instant. 

As a result, atmosphere impacts worship in ways we may not have ever considered. It’s not a single facet of worship but an all-encompassing one – one that can determine our ability to surrender, to trust, and to worship with freedom. In that way, it’s important to become aware of the atmosphere everywhere we find ourselves, even within ourselves, especially as we worship.

Paying Attention

Some would say they walk in a room and immediately take its temperature. They read the room. They get a feel for who is there, how they’re feeling, and what the atmosphere is. In other words, they are paying attention. We want to do the same as we seek to worship God.

If we find ourselves resisting God, feeling far from or apathetic toward God, we can take our own temperature by asking Holy Spirit to search us, to reveal to us what keeps us from worshiping God fully (Psalm 139:23). For instance:

• If our minds swirl with worrisome thoughts as we try to worship God, our posture will be closed to love because fear has a hold of us.
• If our hearts hold bitterness or resentment, inner walls will close off our hearts to the presence of God.
• If our spirits shelter behind shame or regret, we no longer move toward God; instead, we withdraw inwardly, eyes on ourselves.
• If our bodies carry unspoken grief or unrepented sin, the gulf between us and God only widens.

For these reasons, and more, Jesus taught us to be reconciled with any broken relationship, with others as well as self and God, before coming to worship at the altar (Matthew 5:23-24). Jesus, of course, understood the impact of barriers between us and God.

Sometimes the walls that keep worship from flowing are fragile and can be torn down with a spoken word of confession or gratitude – like those Sunday mornings when I find my spirit grumbling because I miss the music of our former church. Grumbling inwardly indicates my eyes are on myself instead of God. As Matt Redman famously sang, I’ve made worship about me. But, by paying attention to the atmosphere of my heart and mind, I can repent and refocus. I can knock down the barrier and realign my heart with God’s.

More often, however, the blockades to our worship of God are sturdier, longer standing – maybe out of habit or long-harbored unbelief or even lack of awareness. In my own church experience, I have no recollection of anyone teaching me worship as coming to God to pour out my adoration of Him until my mid-twenties when our local church started a new worship service. The young worship leader instructed us with his words and by his example. The pastors taught us with Scripture, prayer, and through their own vulnerability. Our experiences of God in that season awakened us to a new understanding of who God is and how we can love Him well through our worship, but it took time. It continues to require repetitive digging of deep wells.

And while Holy Spirit might change a heart or shift a room’s atmosphere in a moment, most often God wants us to do the hard work of taking down each piece of the wall that has been built over years and lifetimes. Because when we take an active role in such intentional effort, the change sticks. Our hearts learn how to long for more of God when we’ve done the work to move toward Him with all that we are over the long haul.

It’s important to note that Holy Spirit has the lead role in all this transformation. Yes, we pay attention. We repent. We put in the effort to tear down barriers and change habits. But none of it is possible in our own strength and understanding. Holy Spirit gives us God’s wisdom, insight into our own motivations and behaviors, and the power to change.

Because Holy Spirit “interpolates Himself in two places: atmosphere and inmost sphere,” He can help us gain wisdom when it comes to discerning the atmosphere of a room and our inner selves.¹ And with whatever He reveals, we pay attention to how it’s influencing our behaviors, our faith, and our spiritual responsiveness. 

Moving Toward

I think back to that morning of New Room Conference every once in a while and wonder why the breaking-in of the Spirit happened. I wonder if Holy Spirit started with one heart, and her response was YES. I wonder how many people in that room had already been praying for a mighty move of the Spirit. I wonder how many in the room stepped into that space with a holy expectancy that morning. I believe all of this set the stage and opened all the hearts in that sanctuary to readiness, responsiveness, and eager receptivity to whatever Holy Spirit had for us that day.

So when the atmosphere shifted, we weren’t just paying attention, we were willing participants!

When the atmosphere in a space shifts toward the holy – away from doubt toward a willingness to receive and respond, away from fear of man and toward fear of God, away from guarded self-preservation and toward open-handed trust – worship changes. It becomes less about us and more about God. It’s no longer about what we say or sing or do, but about the One to whom we offer all our faith and hope and adoration. 

Throughout this series, the word ‘toward’ keeps showing up. We turn our faces toward God, move our bodies toward the altar, and shift our postures toward Jesus. It turns out there are historical, etymological reasons for this word’s constant appearance.

For instance, one word for ‘worship’ in the New Testament is proskuneo. Its prefix, pros, means ‘towards,’ which paints a picture of worship as moving towards the object of worship.² Interestingly, the derivative of kuneo means “to kiss.” Not grovel-like. Not even romantically, but worshipfully – like kissing the feet of the one worshipped. 

Proskuneo is the Greek word Jesus uses, seven times, when speaking with the woman at the well about worship (John 4:20-23). Jesus is telling her and us that God seeks people who will draw towards Him – as if to kiss Him – in Spirit and truth (v.23).³ 

Another Greek word uses the pros prefix: prosphiles, and it is only used once in all of Scripture – in Philippians 4:8:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.”

Very often, as in the NIV, prosphiles is typically defined as ‘lovely,’ but its truer meaning is “drawing close in love,” toward one who is “worthy of personal affection; hence, worth the effort to have and to embrace.”⁴ In the context of worship, God is the only One worthy of our worship. He’s the only One we should move toward with worshipful phileo, or love. 

Therefore, Paul’s exhortation is as practical as it is theological. If we’re to fully embrace the One worthy of our adoration and worship, our thoughts must remain fixed on all that is lovely and true, honorable and right, pure and admirable. For our minds to be focused on the opposite is to move away from God. It’s to cease worshiping.

That’s why changing the atmosphere begins within each one of us. We’re meant to shift the atmosphere within our hearts and minds and spirits toward God by changing the focus of our thoughts to all that is holy and good and true. Such a practice changes how we think, behave, and worship.

In order to embrace the worship of God with our whole selves, in wholehearted devotion to Him, we draw near to Him with humble, holy-fearing hearts. And lay everything else down. In doing so, we give Holy Spirit fertile ground in our hearts and minds to do His work – individually and collectively. 

Paul says it this way, “whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:16). And the result is freedom (v.17). 

Friends, whenever we engage the Spirit to change the atmosphere of our hearts and our rooms – and turn to the Lord – we’ll discover the ‘veil’ has been taken away. All those things that separated us from God are gone. We no longer move through rote rituals or numbly sway to a tune. We cease looking at all the stuff in us and the people around us, and instead, find ourselves free to move toward God with all our love and adoration.

This is worship.

Father God, how we love You! How we love the way You have made it possible for us to know your will, to see your Righteous One, and to hear words from your mouth – and that by these things we are able to pay attention to what’s going on in our hearts and minds. We are able to discern the atmosphere of the rooms we find ourselves in. And we are given the power and authority to change them – so that we can move toward the Holy, so we can draw near to You. Lord Jesus, thank You for showing us how barriers affect our relationship with You and our worship of You. Thank You for sending us your Spirit as a means for receiving and responding to all that You have for us. Holy Spirit, we’re so grateful to know You better. We ask that You would continue to call us toward your voice so that we might become aware of the specific walls that need to be removed within us. We desire to tear down all that might come between us and God so that our worship can be wholehearted and free. Search our hearts and help us to discern all the thoughts, feelings, and habits that keep us from drawing near to God. Help us to have the willingness and power to tear down those barriers one brick at a time – and to trust that God is worth all the effort because He is worthy to be loved. And worshiped. Jesus, we move toward You with hopeful hearts. In your holy name we pray, amen.
(Acts 22:14; Philippians 4:8; Luke 10:19; Acts 1:8; Matthew 5:23-24; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16; John 16:13; Psalm 139:23, 145:3; 1 John 4:16) 

Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.

• 1 – JD Walt gets really DEEP in 6/13/22 post on the Wake Up Call. Here’s a little more of what he had to say about Interpolation:
  • “As at Creation, on the Day of Pentecost we see the interpolation of the Spirit of God, the Wind of Heaven on the waves of chaos.
    Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)
    As at Creation, on the Day of Pentecost we see the interpolation of the Spirit of God, the Breath of God on the dust bound frame of a person.
    The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, interpolates himself in two places: atmosphere and inmost sphere. 
    Interpolation—’the insertion of something of a different nature into something else.’
    Wind and water. Breath and dust.
    New creation into fallen creation.”
• 2 – Biblehub definition for proskuneo
• 3 – Lisa Harper in the “Theology of Worship Part 2” episode of her Back Porch Theology podcast. In fact, she mentions proskuneo in a few of the worship episodes!
• 4 – Biblehub definition for prosphiles
• BONUS: In Annie F. Downs’ podcast interview with Darlene Zschech, they talked about the “atmosphere of faith” and how we can make a difference in other people’s lives with the atmospheres we establish in our homes, offices, classrooms, etc. We can create peaceful, holy spaces with our decorations and smells and sounds (ie: quiet, worshipful hymns) – but especially with our attitudes and God-aligned-hearts. I heard similar teachings in the same church of my twenties, how we need to pay attention to what’s in our homes because we can invite God’s peace in – or we can make way for chaos to reign. 
• Well, I’ve gone and added another song to our Embrace Worship Spotify playlist. It’s not new to our listening or worshiping because it shows up in sanctuaries and playlists often — BECAUSE it so eloquently invites Holy Spirit to “come flood this place and fill the atmosphere.” It goes on to describe how there is nothing worth more than being in God’s presence — where shame is undone and hearts become free. It’s SUCH a great worship song. You’re welcome. LOL
• Each Wednesday I upload a “Teacup” teaching video that carries on the topic here. You can find all the videos on my Facebook Author Page, Instagram, and YouTube.
• Many of you have already found me on Substack! Thank you so much! While you’re on Substack, check out the ministry I’m blessed to be part of, the Devoted Collective. And, if you’d rather listen to these weekly posts, you can now do so on Substack — it’s easy to see and use the audio bar across the top of each post.
• My monthly newsletter, The Abiding Life, goes to email inboxes of those who have subscribed on my website, and I post them on Substack — usually within the first week of the month. My most recent edition can be found there, and you can subscribe for future newsletters on Substack, here.

Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike. These next three months we’re focusing on the rhythm of worship (surprise!).

• This week we are highlighting and ‘tabbing’ a section in our Prayer Bibles: Philippians 4:8-9. Each week this summer we’re marking significant passages about worship so that we can find them easily, put them to memory, and apply them in our abiding lives. These are words we can pray with a little personalization. They can also become words of reverence-filled worship. I’ve never considered this well-known passage in the context of worship until now. But it makes a lot of sense to me as I consider my own runaway thoughts and their impact on all things faith — especially my worship!
  
  And. When I read verse nine with everything we’ve been learning about worship, it flows right out of the idea of coming to God — to the well of God — again and again. Hear it in the NLT (emphasis mine):
  • “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” — Philippians 4:8-9 NLT
    
• We’re all called to share the truths about the work of Jesus. One way you can do that is by sharing this site and telling others your own stories of faith experiences. Believe it or not, we worship God each time we share our stories of faith! We use our whole selves to tell about our holy God!!

Featured Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” photo by Aleksandra Sapozhnikova on Unsplash.
^Denotes an affiliate link, with which this ministry earns a bit to help it keep going. 😉