What does it really mean to worship God?
Psalm 66:4
All the earth worships thee; they sing praises to thee, sing praises to thy name."
What does it really mean to worship God? The "New Strong’s Guide to Bible Words" lists several aspects that worship can include:
- to prostrate oneself
- to fabricate or fashion
- to prostrate in homage
- glory and brilliance
- voluntary piety
- to put religion into practice
- to minister to God
- to revere, i.e. adore
"Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary" says the following on the topic of worship:
"Human beings were created to be worshipers (worship; to be great; glorify; magnify) of God. Praise (bless; commend; hallelujah) and thanksgiving, bowing before God, and confessing his goodness in an attitude of reverence and awe (fear) are important elements of acceptable worship. Rejoicing in song and singing psalms, hymns, and melodies are major parts of worship, as is the reading of Scripture."
It is so easy to think that worship is the time we spend at church when we sing along with the songs and raise our hands in reverence to God. We often become emotional and get tears in your eyes as we sing to him. While worshiping God in this way is a wonderful heart experience, I believe it is only a very small part of worship. Paul tells us in Romans 12:1 that our spiritual worship is when we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Therefore, every act we do and choice we make is an opportunity to worship God.
Some time ago, I had a vision as I was praying for one of the leaders at the church I attend. I saw him standing in the middle of all these instruments. Each instrument was different and he was playing them all. As he played, there was this beautiful blue hue of light surrounding him. There were also these flashes of lights all around him that looked like diamonds when they catch the light. And the sound he was making was incredible, like nothing I have ever heard before. I was overwhelmed by it and asked God what he was doing. I heard God speak to me, "He is creating a symphony of worship to me." With tears in my eyes I told God, "I want to learn to worship you like that."
Over the next few months I watched him at church. He was doing everything from teaching money management classes, to talking with people in the church gathering place, praying for people at the altar, directing cars in the parking lot and greeting people as they came in. His actions spoke volumes to me about what it means to worship God in everyday life.
My pastor preached in one of his sermons about the janitor at the Seminary he attended. More than all the theology teachers, this janitor’s actions spoke to him and his classmates about what it really meant to worship God. In fact, because his life so preached what it meant to worship God, they asked him to speak at their graduation. My pastor said it was not what he did - anyone could have swept the floor and cleaned up; But, it was that everything that he did clearly was an offering to God. Because of this, it carried the power of God and spoke volumes to people.
Brother Lawrence is also someone who really knew what it meant to live a life of worship. In his book, "The Practice of The Presence of God," he is quoted as saying, "we must give ourselves totally to God, in both temporal and spiritual affairs. Our only happiness should come from doing God’s will, whether it brings us some pain or great pleasure." Everything Brother Lawrence did, he did in love and adoration of God. The book goes on to state, "The most effective way Brother Lawrence had for communicating with God was to simply do his ordinary work. He did this obediently, out of a pure love of God, purifying it as much as humanly possible."
Could there be any higher calling than to worship God in our everyday life? After all, isn’t worship what heaven is about?
Revelations 5:10-11(NASB)
"The twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
‘Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, To receive glory and honor and power;
For Thou didst create all things, An d because of Thy will they existed, and were created.’"
All the earth worships thee; they sing praises to thee, sing praises to thy name."
What does it really mean to worship God? The "New Strong’s Guide to Bible Words" lists several aspects that worship can include:
- to prostrate oneself
- to fabricate or fashion
- to prostrate in homage
- glory and brilliance
- voluntary piety
- to put religion into practice
- to minister to God
- to revere, i.e. adore
"Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary" says the following on the topic of worship:
"Human beings were created to be worshipers (worship; to be great; glorify; magnify) of God. Praise (bless; commend; hallelujah) and thanksgiving, bowing before God, and confessing his goodness in an attitude of reverence and awe (fear) are important elements of acceptable worship. Rejoicing in song and singing psalms, hymns, and melodies are major parts of worship, as is the reading of Scripture."
It is so easy to think that worship is the time we spend at church when we sing along with the songs and raise our hands in reverence to God. We often become emotional and get tears in your eyes as we sing to him. While worshiping God in this way is a wonderful heart experience, I believe it is only a very small part of worship. Paul tells us in Romans 12:1 that our spiritual worship is when we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Therefore, every act we do and choice we make is an opportunity to worship God.
Some time ago, I had a vision as I was praying for one of the leaders at the church I attend. I saw him standing in the middle of all these instruments. Each instrument was different and he was playing them all. As he played, there was this beautiful blue hue of light surrounding him. There were also these flashes of lights all around him that looked like diamonds when they catch the light. And the sound he was making was incredible, like nothing I have ever heard before. I was overwhelmed by it and asked God what he was doing. I heard God speak to me, "He is creating a symphony of worship to me." With tears in my eyes I told God, "I want to learn to worship you like that."
Over the next few months I watched him at church. He was doing everything from teaching money management classes, to talking with people in the church gathering place, praying for people at the altar, directing cars in the parking lot and greeting people as they came in. His actions spoke volumes to me about what it means to worship God in everyday life.
My pastor preached in one of his sermons about the janitor at the Seminary he attended. More than all the theology teachers, this janitor’s actions spoke to him and his classmates about what it really meant to worship God. In fact, because his life so preached what it meant to worship God, they asked him to speak at their graduation. My pastor said it was not what he did - anyone could have swept the floor and cleaned up; But, it was that everything that he did clearly was an offering to God. Because of this, it carried the power of God and spoke volumes to people.
Brother Lawrence is also someone who really knew what it meant to live a life of worship. In his book, "The Practice of The Presence of God," he is quoted as saying, "we must give ourselves totally to God, in both temporal and spiritual affairs. Our only happiness should come from doing God’s will, whether it brings us some pain or great pleasure." Everything Brother Lawrence did, he did in love and adoration of God. The book goes on to state, "The most effective way Brother Lawrence had for communicating with God was to simply do his ordinary work. He did this obediently, out of a pure love of God, purifying it as much as humanly possible."
Could there be any higher calling than to worship God in our everyday life? After all, isn’t worship what heaven is about?
Revelations 5:10-11(NASB)
"The twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
‘Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, To receive glory and honor and power;
For Thou didst create all things, An d because of Thy will they existed, and were created.’"
Comments