THE 4 MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF WORSHIP

It was just another Sunday morning at church and the worship team was rolling through their songs for that morning as they would each week. I was in the back of the church standing up simply singing the songs but my heart was not considering the words and my mindset on what worship was at that time was this - sing songs to God. That's it. Nothing more. But I became friends with two mature women of God and I started to sit by them during church. As we would get to our time of worship, they would worship so freely. They would lift their hands to the heavens and sing their praises to God with so much passion. I was so inspired by these women that I started to worship in this way too. Over the years I have grown in my personal worship to God and have developed my beliefs on why and how I worship my heavenly Father.

Why do we as believers worship?

I personally believe that we worship God to show that He is God and we are not - to fully surrender all things to him. It is a time to let all things go and lay all our sin at His feet, glorifying Him with our praises. It is also a time to remind us of His truths. As we sing lyrics, it can remind our hearts to believe His character and gospel and to live more for Him. Worship is like a guided prayer but rather than saying our prayers we sing them. Worship is a time to let our Father know that we are grateful for how He is working in our lives and how He is changing us. It is not a duty but a response to say, “Thank you for saving me.” It opens our hearts to see him more clearly and to spiritually awaken our eyes to see our sin, to be set on fire again for Him. Worship also heals our heart as we are reminded of who He is and the Lord works in our hearts as we worship him.

How do we worship God?

Worship overall is a time to glorify God in gratefulness and obedience. Yes, we can worship Him in the song but worship is bigger than just that. We can also use prayer, service, and evangelizing, and with our actions as well. If we are making more of Him we are worshiping Him. It is a daily thing and we can do it in so many ways. We must not worry about what our worship looks like. We are all called to praise Him differently. Whether that be in a solemn or expressive way, you can lift your hands in any way if the Lord calls you. Do not force it. We must check our hearts before we worship because it must come from our hearts first. Confess your sin, tell him how you have not depended on God, and how you have run away from Him. Ask for forgiveness and remove all bitterness from your heart. From here, tell him about what you are thankful for in your life and heart. Praise Him freely as He calls you. Submit to all He calls you to but also do not be ashamed to praise Him in an expressive way. Worship is between you and God. You should not worry about what others may say or think. Their focus should be on God not themselves or you. Guide others to put their full focus on God in your worship during your time in church and in all things you do in your life to make Jesus shine.

Where in the Word does it tell us to worship?

In God’s word, it encourages us multiple times to worship Him in many different ways. In the Psalms, it tells us over and over again to praise Him. Knowing this, we as believers are to worship Him in our lives. My favorite Bible verses on worship come from Hebrews 12:28-29 & Psalm 100:1-5 which say, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire” and “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” I love these verses because they tell us to worship Him always because we are His children. We get to praise Him in song with gratefulness by sharing His truths and with our feet, we can also live out our obedience to God by glorifying Him in serving others.

Why I love to worship

I love to worship because it connects me with God like nothing else. It is a beautiful moment when I sing to Him with my whole being. He reenergizes my soul and heals my emptiness by filling my cup. Because God blessed me with the gift of singing, I love using my gift to make more of Him. Praising God in song blessed my heart with so much joy because I know it makes Him smile as I fulfill my calling to glorify Him in all I do. I have also been called to worship leading and have done that at my local church for about two years. I remember a time when I was assigned to a song and I felt so nervous to sing this difficult song. As I approached this song doing the worship service I asked God to give me peace and to praise Him only to the best of my ability. I just gave it all my passion and all went very well. There have been times when I don’t feel like worshiping Him but He breaks into my heart and sets me on fire as I surrender to Him in song. As I surrender, He fills my cup. Nothing can fill our cup like Christ does. We may think seeking things of this world can fill our cup but it will be of only temporary pleasure then we will be empty and broken again. God is our true living water. So let us worship Him for He is a good good father! Even when storms enter our lives, praising Him daily can bless us with so much peace and healing because as we praise Him, we are declaring, "Lord, we put it all in your hands." We are blessed to approach Him and praise him. What a compassionate God. Worship will light up your world as you make more of Him and less of yourself.