How do you approach God?

Have you ever been so poor that, when being invited to a friend’s home for dinner, you couldn’t afford to bring anything to contribute to the meal or a gift for your hosts?

It’s an awkward feeling. A lot of false guilt flows at times like that. Your hosts invited you as their guests, they didn’t require you to bring something. But you were probably raised with the idea that its “the polite thing to do” to bring something when invited to someone’s home for dinner. Or, at least, offer to.

But here’s the thing: even when you’re too poor to bring something to give, you have something to give! You always have something available to offer, such as …

Yourself.

Your company.

Your friendship.

Your gratitude.

Your appreciation.

Your love.

Those are valuable gifts to give, so you never really go empty-handed.

In Exodus 34, God and Moses are having a conversation. In the last sentence of verse 20, God says to Moses, “No one may appear before me without an offering.”

Yes, we no longer live by the Old Covenant, but it’s still a good idea to bring something to offer when you come before God. Not the sacrifice of an animal or a grain offering, but things like this …

Yourself.

Your company.

Your praise.

Your worship.

Your gratitude.

Your trust.

Your adoration.

Your love.

We never have to come before God empty-handed, but often the only thing we approach Him with is our lists of requests. We can, and should, do better than that.

“Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him … Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God,” Psalm 95:2, 6.

“Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name,” Hebrews 13:15.

How do you approach God? Do you make it a time all about yourself and your requests? Or do you offer Him something you have available to give? How could bringing Him your praise enhance the time you spend with Him?

Scotty