Why don't I pray more right after I see God answering prayers faster than I can thank Him for? One week later, I'm praying out of obligation instead of true worship and faith, as if God never answered a prayer on earth. Every time we pray heartlessly (without fervent worship), faithlessly (without belief that He will answer) or legalistically (without love for Him), we dishonor God.

But last night the prayers of my faithful wife unleashed a river of joy that this blog will never do justice explaining. It was Haverhill Elementary's "Father Daughter Dance" night and I took Audrey, my nine year old red-head who looks like a walking matchstick to the dance. 

The entire night was pure worship. First, I've never seen Audrey so tender and affectionate. We danced for more than 70 minutes until we were ready to drop. On slow songs she'd look up with sparkling eyes as if I was her prince. On fast songs we'd break apart and do anything ftom the knee switch to the samba to an amateur form of break dancing. 

We prayed for people around us during slow dances and talked about dance as another form of worship on our way home. At one point I wondered why the night was so blessed and figured that someone must be praying. That would be Kimberly, my incredible wife. 

But it wasn't just time with Audrey that made that night unforgettable. When we first walked in, another 4th grader said "Hi Audrey!" Audrey didn't even know the girl so I figured the girl was trying to prove to her Dad that she's got a lot of friends. So we sat at their table and I introduced myself to the Dad. 

"What do you do for a living?" I asked. 

"Construction" came the reply. The guy looked like a military vet with more tattoos than skin, as much long hair as baldness, and a grip that felt like hydraulics. 

"I used to build houses too," I replied and we talked for a while and then he asked, "What do you do?" 

"I'm a pastor." This naturally led to conversation about churches and then I popped the big question: "If you were to hit ice tonight and die and you found yourself standing before God..." 

He said he'd get to heaven because he's a good person and because he believes in Jesus. 

"If we could get to heaven because we are good people, why do you think Jesus died for us?" I asked. This led to ten minutes of dialogue over what it means to be forgiven. Before a quarter hour had passed another man and his daughter were sitting at our table. He was another pastor! This produced ten minutes of fellowship.

Later that night a man named "Joel" sat at our table and I introduced myself and it turned out he had given his life to Christ. So we fellowshiped briefly and then I asked him, "May I ask you a direct question?" 

"Ask me anything," he said. 

"Do you share Jesus with others?" 

"All the time! " he said with a happy grin. 

Before I took Audrey home we swung by Circuit City to see how gutted this chain of stores employing 31,000 people soon to be jobless had become. It was like walking into a garage sale. On the way in, Audrey and I stopped and talked to one of the employees manning the door. He would be without work in a few days. Audrey said, "We'll pray for you." 

One the way out I gave him a gospel pamphlet and it turned out he was best friends with a student in our college ministry! Wow. He knew Jesus too.

A night of dance, evangelism, fellowship, father-daughterhood, and ultimately worship. I think we sometimes separate "God time" as church from other time as time for ourselves. I know this because I fall prey to this wickedness often. We cannot let this happen! Every moment of our life must be lived for God's glory, lived as an act of worship—then the Christian faith becomes real and alive! Then we begin to worship.