What is Worship?


Whilst praise in an expression of admiration and appreciation, worship is an expression of love and adoration. It is possible to admire someone and appreciate what they do without loving them. Worship has to do with our love for the Lord that is, giving Him our whole heart and life. We express our feelings towards God. This is why the greatest commandment is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” [Matthew 22:37].

The Bible commands us to worship God. Israel was to worship God as Lord and Him alone. “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” [Exodus 20:2-6].
“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve” [Matthew 4:10]. Psalms 95:6 says, “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.” Everyone should worship God. Even if you do not want to, one day you will “for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest” [Revelations 15:4].

How Shall we Worship God?

We cannot pretend to worship God and hope to get away with it. “But the hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” [John 4:23-24]. When we worship we go into the spiritual mode. The Holy Spirit helps us to worship, for he is the Spirit of God. But now Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life. Jesus is the truth. We need the Son, Jesus Christ, in order to worship God, the Father. It’s through Jesus Christ that our sins are forgiven and “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” [Psalms 96:9]. These are some of the things which take place when we worship:
◈ We stand to sing. “And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high” [2 Chr 20:19]. We need to stand up and sing. “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb” [Revelations 7:9-10]. The greatest multitude stood before the throne and worship so do we.
◈ We clap hands. “O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph” [Psalms 47:1]. The Bible commands us to clap our hands in worship.
◈ We lift our hands. It is scriptural to lift our hands as we worship. Lifting hands generally is a sign of defeat. When we lift our hands to God, it is a sign of giving our lives and surrendering to Him in submission. It is not only a sign of trust in God, but of humility. Psalms 63:4 says, “Thus will I bless Thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in Thy name.” We are to lift our hands. “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord” [Psalms 134:2]. “I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting” [1Timothy 2:8].
◈ We dance before the Lord. “Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints. Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto Him with the timbrel and harp” [Psalms 149:1-3]. King David danced for the Lord in praise. We will rejoice as we dance for him. Dancing is part of praise.
◈ We pray and sing in tongues and our own languages. “For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayed, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also” [1Corithians 14:14-15]. The Bible allows us to sing and pray in other tongues.
◈ We prophecy and interpret unknown tongues. “Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues” [1Corithians 14:39]. “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesies this speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort” [1Corithians 14:1-3]. “If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret” [1Corithians 14:27].
◈ Musical instruments are part of worship service. “Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet: praise Him with the psaltery and harp. Praise Him with the tumbrel and dance: praise Him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise Him upon the loud cymbals: praise Him upon the high sounding cymbals” [Psalms 150:3-5].
◈ Each person in the congregation may pray at once. “And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is” [Acts 4:24].


© Copyright 2012 by It’s My Footprint, www.itsmyfootprint.com.  

About Taka Sande
Taka Sande is an author, teacher of the Word of God and entrepreneur who facilitates social, spiritual and economic development. He is also the creator and editor of www.itsmyfootprint.com blog. He has been a church leader for over 15 years. He fellowship and serve as a leader at Hatfield Christian Church, in Pretoria, South Africa.

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