Today we’re looking at worship in Scripture to get a clear understanding of how to worship God … and it might be different than you think.
Let’s start by explaining that praising God is very different than worshipping Him. Praise is an outward expression of gratitude and celebration, worship is an internal attitude of the heart of awe, reverence, and submission to God. Praise celebrates what God has done, worship focuses on Him. Praise is joyful with singing and dancing; worship is a quiet matter of the heart. Praise celebrates God’s actions, miracles, provisions, and even character traits, worship is quiet adoration of God as a Person. Don’t confuse music and singing in church with worship, it is mostly praise and rarely becomes worship.
Praise can be faked because it comes from your mouth, worship cannot because it comes from the deepest recesses of your heart and soul. Worship is when your mind, heart, and soul are all in humble awe and reverence before God acknowledging who He is. It is a state where you realize how small you are and how great He is. It is always quiet and reverent.
Worship is recognizing that God is tremendous and that you are unworthy to be in His presence:
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isa 6:1-5)
Worship is realizing that God is everything and deserves all the glory and honor:
the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Rev 4:10-11)
Worship does not spring from feeling good. Job worshipped God right after he lost his possessions, workers, and children. Worship springs from humility of self and acknowledging God’s greatness:
20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:20-21)
Worship often will drive you to your knees, fall flat on your face, or cover your face. The word for worship in Hebrew even means to “bow low” or “prostrate yourself”.
… And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (Ex 3:6)
And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped. (Ex 4:31. See also Gen 24:26-27)
And going into the house, they (the wise men) saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. (Mt 2:11)
Here is a great example of worship:
36 One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. (Lk 7:36-38)
This woman completely humbled herself before the Lord by wiping His feet with her hair and tears. She fully recognized who Jesus was, how great He was, and saw herself as nothing compared to Him. She was fully of appreciation, awe, reverence, and humility before the Lord. Notice, she didn’t say a word. Everything was in her heart and came out in her body language and actions.
I’m going to confess, I don’t sit quietly before the Lord pondering Him and worshipping as often as I should. As the elders in Revelation 4:11, He is worthy to receive glory and honor. I need to carve out time to humble myself before the KING and sit in silent awe of Him much more often.
How about you?
Think about it
Do you agree or disagree that most singing in church is not worship? How does this change the way you view Sunday morning service and your relationship with God?
Do you have a healthy balance of praise to God (focus on what He does) and worship (focus on who He is)? If not, which do you do more?
When was the last time you felt a sense of holy fear or undone-ness in God’s presence? Is that a regular part of your relationship with Him?
How would you define worship now? Do you see the difference between that and praise? Have you felt the difference between the two?
Do you need to spend more time in worship like me? What changes are you going to make in your life to worship more?
Get alone with God and worship Him!
