Lord God,
You are the God who chooses where Your name will dwell.
You are not worshiped on every hill or under every green tree,
but in the place You have appointed.
You are not one among many
You are the Holy One who defines what is holy.
You alone determine how You will be approached,
and where Your presence will rest.
You are the God who calls for purity in worship
who commands the tearing down of false altars,
the breaking of sacred pillars,
the burning of wooden idols.
You will not share Your glory with another.
You are jealous for the love of Your people,
for jealousy in You is not insecurity,
but holiness refusing to be profaned.
I confess, Lord,
that my heart often builds altars where You have not chosen to dwell.
I worship comfort,
I bow to success,
I sacrifice time and thought to idols too familiar to name.
Forgive me for dividing my devotion
for bringing offerings to You with one hand
while holding back the world’s treasures with the other.
Cleanse the inner sanctuary, O Lord.
Tear down what is false,
that You might be worshiped in spirit and in truth.
You said, “You shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses
to make His name dwell there.”
So I seek You, Lord.
Not the mountain of emotion,
not the valley of ritual,
but the place of Your choosing
the altar of the heart made pure by grace.
For now, in Christ,
You have made Your dwelling not in temples of stone,
but in living hearts redeemed by blood.
Let mine be one such dwelling place.
You commanded Your people to rejoice before You
to eat and celebrate in Your presence,
to include their sons, daughters, servants, and even the stranger within their gates.
Worship was never meant to be silent,
but shared.
So restore my joy in Your presence, Lord.
Make my obedience a feast, not a burden.
Let my faith invite others to taste and see that You are good.
Let my table, my time, my home,
become spaces where Your name is honored and Your joy abounds.
You warned Israel not to do whatever was right in their own eyes.
O God, keep me from that modern idolatry
the religion of self will.
Let reverence replace autonomy,
and surrender replace self-rule.
Your way is not narrow because it is cruel,
but because it leads to life.
Guard me from wandering,
and teach me the beauty of obedience.
You said, “Take heed to yourself that you do not be ensnared to follow them.”
So set a guard, Lord, over my affections.
Let discernment protect my worship,
that I might never call holy what is unclean,
nor blend truth with compromise.
Give me a heart that trembles at Your Word
and delights in Your commands.
You are the God who dwells where You are honored.
So dwell here, Lord
not in part, but in fullness.
Sanctify my inner temple.
Let praise rise like incense,
and thanksgiving burn like a continual offering.
Let every act of obedience become an altar,
and every moment of surrender a song.
For You alone are worthy
the God who tore down idols
and built within us a place for Your glory.
And now through Jesus,
the greater Temple and final Sacrifice,
You dwell forever with Your people.
So I worship You,
in reverence,
in joy,
and in love.
In the name of Jesus,
the dwelling place of God among men,
Amen.