O God, what is Spirit?
How do I worship in spirit and in truth?
I am such a solid, earthly creature,
my feet planted firmly on the ground,
my life based upon material things.
I like to touch and feel and see before I believe.
I am accustomed to dealing with houses, land, and money,
with bread, meat and potatoes,
with objects handled, weighed, and valued
by my own standards.
I am uncomfortable with what cannot be analyzed
or dissected or given a market value.
What is Spirit?
Yet, O Lord, the very things I handle and see
lose meaning when they become ends in themselves.
They are all given meaning by the things of the spirit,
by love and hope and faith.
I know when I come down to it,
if I have all kinds of earthly goods
and have not love,
I have nothing.
I need the mystery beyond the tangible.
I need the things of the spirit
to give meaning to the material things I prize.
I cannot divide life up,
you have made it whole.
If I avoid love, diminish hope, deny faith,
my appreciation of my house and land,
my meat and potatoes, shrinks,
And I become a little man
with little aims and little power.
Kenneth Phifer
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But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—
when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.
For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.
prayer & verse 