Remember When You Worship

One of the most important words in the Old Testament is the word “remember.” In Hebrew, it is the word zakar, and means to meditate upon, to recall, to confess, to rehearse, to think about, to record. It is used over 300 times in one form or another. Remembering is one of the ways of God.

In Psalm 25:6 – 7, it says, “Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love, remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!” In these two verses you learn why remembering is one of the ways of God. He meditates upon His own goodness. The Lord recalls what He has said and what He has done. He thinks about His own faithfulness and His steadfast love. Remembering is one of His ways. It pleases God to remember.

Our memories are marred with sin. When we think about “the good old days,” it is always in the context of having lost something along the way in comparison to the present days. We remember and want to go back. But God remembers Himself with the present and future in mind! He is eternal. God does not lose anything along the way. His memory gives Him joy and glory because He recalls His faithfulness and He knows He will always be faithful! He looks forward to what He is about to do, according to what He has said He will do!

God desires us to remember what He has said and what He has done. In the Old Testament, God established the feasts of Israel to remember His mighty deeds and to point forward to His promises. They were the foundation of Israel’s worship because they pointed to God in their past, so that they could recognize His activity in their present, and to trust His promises for their future. Remembering gave meaning and purpose to their lives.

When Jesus took the bread and the wine of the Passover in the upper room with His disciples and said, “…do this in remembrance of me,” Luke 22:19, He was giving the full meaning of the OT feasts as they pointed to Him as well as giving His disciples the foundation of worship in the New Covenant with Him.

When Jesus hung on the cross, the Scripture says that He was crucified between two thieves. One railed at Him saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

At that moment, Jesus must have heard the prayer of Psalm 25:6 – 7 coming from the lips of the thief, and He replied, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23:39 – 42.

This man was certainly confessing his sin and guilt and was acknowledging Jesus’ innocence. But he was also confessing his faith in Jesus as the coming King. Jesus may not have appeared at that moment as a king, but the man expressed his faith that Jesus one day would reign as King! This brings glory to the Father and this is what it means to worship the Father in spirit and truth.

Today, remember what God has said by meditating on His word. Remember what He has done in your life with gratitude and joy. And recall His promises. God is with you and Christ is coming again! Hallelujah!!!