Maggie Oman Shannon is a spiritual director and writer. She is the author of One God, Shared Hope and The Way We Pray, editor of Prayers for Healing and coauthor of A String and a Prayer. She lives in San Francisco.

CHAPTER 1

worship and praise god

It all starts here, with the "In the beginning" of Genesis 1:1 ("In thebeginning God created the heavens and the earth") and the first surah of theKoran (1:1–5): "In the name of God, most gracious, most merciful, praise be toGod, the cherisher and sustainer of the worlds; most gracious, most mercifulmaster of the day of judgment. You do we worship, and your aid we seek." We, asJews and Christians and Muslims, are "People of the Book," all descended fromAbraham. We worship God, and we love to praise God, for from God originateseverything.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power, and the glory and the majesty andthe splendor; for everything in heaven and earth is yours. —1 Chronicles 29:11

For Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible andinvisible, whether thrones or powers orrulers or authorities; all things werecreated by Him and for Him. —Colossians 1:16

To Him belong the most beautiful names;whatever is in the heavens and on earthdoes declare His praises and glory. —Koran 59:24

And worship is something that all of creation participates in, for in God we all"live and move and have our being"(Acts 17:28).

All you have made will praise you, O Lord; your saints will extol you. They willtell of the glory of your kingdom. —Psalms 145:10–11

Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness; tremble before Him, all theearth. —Psalms 96:9

Christ is all, and is in all. —Colossians 3:11

See you not that it is God whose praises all beings in the heavens and on earthdo celebrate, and the birds of the air with wings outspread? —Koran 24:41

And how is it that we are to worship God? For Jews, it is practicing the Shema;for Muslims, the Shahadah: proclamations that, similar to the Christian's NiceneCreed, are fervent statements of faith. But even before the proclamation offaith comes the movement of the heart.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with allyour strength. —Deuteronomy 6:5

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with allyour mind and with all your strength. —Mark 12:30

O you who believe! Celebrate the praises of God, and do so often; and glorify Himmorning and evening. He it is Who sends blessings on you, as do His angels, thatHe may bring you out from the depths of darkness into light. —Koran 33:42–43

And what exactly is worship of God?

Stop and consider God's wonders. —Job 37:14

Be still, and know that I am God. —Psalms 46:10

Come, let us bow down in worship: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.—Psalms 95:6

I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.—Psalms 34:1

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship theFather in spirit and truth; for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.—John 4:23

* * *

Worship can also be done with great joy.

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet; praise him with the harp and thelyre, praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with the stringsand flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals. —Psalms 150:3–5

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. —Psalms118:24

* * *

And who is this God that we worship?

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." —Exodus 3:14

The eternal God is your refuge. —Deuteronomy 33:27

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. —Revelation 21:6

I am the way and the truth and the life. —John 14:6

He is God, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms or Colors. To himbelong the most beautiful names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth declaresHis praises and glory; and He is the Exalted in might, the Wise. —Koran 59:24

CHAPTER 2

read the scriptures

The importance of reading the sacred scriptures of our faith is stressed in eachof our traditions, as the scriptures have been given to us by God forinstruction and guidance.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked ... but hisdelight is in the law of the Lord: and on his law he meditates day and night.—Psalms 1:1–2

If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know thetruth, and the truth will set you free. —John 8:31–32

Instruct them in Scripture and wisdom, and sanctify them: for You are theExalted in might, the Wise. —Koran 2:129

Our approach to the scriptures should be one of reverence; by meditating uponholy passages and loving their laws, we are changed. The scriptures become partof our minds and hearts.

I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. —Psalms 40:8

Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. —Psalms 119:97

If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and wewill come to him and make our home with him. —John 14:23

When the Qur'an is read, listen to it with attention.... Bring your Lord toremembrance in your very soul. —Koran 7:204–5

Yet we are to use what we learn, to put it into practice.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice islike a wise man who built his house on the rock. —Matthew 7:24

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.—James 1:22

Those who rehearse the Book of God, establish regular prayer, and spend incharity out of what We have provided for them, secretly and openly, hope for aCommerce that will never fail....