Worship - More than a Song?

Worship is prayer, but with a different focus. When I wrote about prayer last week, it was mainly referring to what we also call “intercession” - prayer for other people. Worship is praising God for who He is.

In some respects, worship is how we live our lives. When we live as God designed us to live, that’s worship. We’re acknowledging that how God made us to live is the best way.

There’s another aspect to worship, though, that falls more into the category of a practice. It’s taking time purposefully to praise God for who He is. His character. Not necessarily what He’s done for you, although that’s always good, too.

Thanksgiving = thanking God for what He has done

Worship = praising God for who He is

Being thankful is another spiritual practice that we’ll talk about another week.

Worship helps to keep everything in perspective. It reminds us that God is huge beyond our comprehension. It’s a reminder that He is able to do anything. It realigns everything in its proper order.

Going through our days, it’s easy to get life out of perspective. After all, what’s in front of us is what we see - going grocery shopping, working, raising the kids, dealing with this crisis or that one. Whatever is in front of us becomes the largest thing. It gets magnified out of proportion to its actual size.

Worship brings everything back in its proper place and its correct size. My problems are really not very big when I see how big God is.

How do we incorporate this practice into our lives?

Make space to worship.

Church services are one place where this happens. Singing songs about God’s character is one way and time to worship. One of my challenges in this setting is to stay focused on God, not the song! I like music and I enjoy singing. I have to discipline myself not to get caught up in finding a new harmony or in watching how much fun the drummer is having or wondering how the guitar player figured out that lead line. I find it helpful to close my eyes and really focus on what the words of the songs are saying. Some days are harder than others!

Church is definitely not the only place and time to worship, though. Take time throughout the day to praise God for who He is. Getting out in God’s creation, even if it’s just out my back door and onto the deck, helps me worship. From the intricate design of a flower or the orderliness of a colony of ants to the incredible vastness of the universe - God’s creation leads us to worship Him when we take the time to stop and look.

Let the Bible guide you

Most of the Psalms are basically worship song lyrics. Let them guide you in worship.

Psalm 8, 19, 29, 33, 34, 111, 113, 135, 144-150 are just a few that focus on God’s character. We can pray through them and let them remind us of who God is.

Your posture can help

Sometimes it’s helpful to have our physical posture reflect our heart attitude in worship. Bowing or kneeling can help us remember who we are and who God is. Our lives belong to Him.

What leads you to worship? What helps you slow down and focus on the character of God?