Worship

“Worship is an act, not an experience.” 

     I heard this statement the other day, and it got me thinking.  Churches have worship services, worship leaders, we are “lead” in worship, we speak of “praise and worship” and such.  I think because of this, we often believe worship is something we only do on Sunday mornings or in our devotions.  It isn’t, of course.  The variety of our acts of worship is so much broader.

Worship is simple.  It is something we do to praise, thank, or bless God.  In Genesis 24:26-27, God led Abraham’s servant to the wife He had for Isaac.  As a result, the grateful servant worshipped the Lord by simply bowing his head in praise:

The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord  and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen.

Our dedication and our godly sacrifice is considered worship by God:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  (Rom. 12:1)

So, the things we do for God and the lives we live are as much forms of worship as singing praises, maybe even more so.  God says He prefers obedience more than sacrifice:

And Samuel said,

       “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,

as in obeying the voice of the Lord?

       Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

and to listen than the fat of rams. (1 Sam. 15:22)

Worship is not always pleasant.  Recently many in the Afgan Church were martyred.  This wasn’t a painless time for them, but their sacrifices may well bring others to Christ as the sacrifices of the martyrs did in the first few centuries of the church.

Music does play a part in worship according to Scripture, usually in corporate worship (2 Chron. 29:25-30; Col. 3:16).  We like to sing praises to God, of course.  Some of my friends use music in their daily devotions.  That is one way they seek and to praise God.

Why is this important?

Since our Christian walk is a form of worship, we need to realize we should be in a constant state of worship.  What we do, how we act, what we say all reflect on our God.  We should act accordingly.

In my thinking about worship, I would restate the opening quote a little differently: “Worship is an act sometimes accompanied by an experience.”

We are in a constant state of worship.  This is good news to us as Christians.  Every moment of every day is available to worship the God of all things through our actions and attitudes.  It’s not just songs on a Sunday morning.  Worship is so much more. 

There is a time for corporate worship praising God directly:

⁹ And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ 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. 4:9-11)

And, there is a time to live out our worship:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  (Rom. 12:1)