I was five years old, standing with my mom and brother in a pew near the front of the sanctuary. We were singing a hymn and I had my eyes closed, my hands held in front of me with my palms facing up as if carrying an invisible tray. This is my earliest memory of worship.
I didn’t know to call it that. I was just responding to the reality of who God showed Himself to be. Somehow—maybe through the Scripture read from the pulpit or a truth proclaimed in that hymn, or maybe through whispers from the Holy Spirit to my heart—I caught a glimpse of God, big and strong and holy, but also good and loving. I felt connected to Him, like I knew Him and He knew me. It didn’t matter that I was small; I knew right then that I was His, and my heart responded in kind.
That moment in my memory marks the beginning of a lifelong journey of worship, of learning to respond to God with all of myself. There are times this resembles that day in the church pew, my heart swelling in worship as the pipe organ plays and the congregation sings. More often it takes a subtler form, a different shape of surrender for each circumstance and season. Sometimes my worship is misplaced; like a train without tracks, I give my awe and reverence to something other than my Creator.
Scripture makes it clear that we are to worship nothing and no one other than the one true God. He is the only one worthy of our worship.
“To whom will you compare me,
or who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
Look up and see!
Who created these?
He brings out the stars by number;
he calls all of them by name.
Because of his great power and strength,
not one of them is missing.”
–Isaiah 40:25–26
But if worship is indeed more than singing on Sunday morning, what is it? Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well that true worshipers worship “in Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). How do we worship with a heart tuned to the Spirit of the Lord and tethered to the truth of His Word?
These are the questions we will explore in this study of what it means to worship God. Each day we will read about an aspect of worship from Scripture, spending time reflecting on what it looks like in our lives. While these two weeks will not give us an exhaustive look at the topic of worship in the Bible, our prayer is that we’ll walk away with a fuller understanding of what “worship in spirit and in truth” means for us and the God who made us.
Like that little girl with hands stretched out, I am still learning how to worship. Join me as we learn together, and may our lives reflect more of God’s goodness and glory as a result.
So excited for this study.
I love that when the disciples had finished watching Jesus and Peter’s adventures walking on the water, they worshipped him by acknowledging who he was. “Truly you are the Son of God.”
May my daily worship reflect that realization.
Worship is one of the purest forms of intimacy with the father I always cry when I worship because I feel like he is with ms he recognizes the princess of our hearts
❤️
I just started this study this morning. I am looking forward to growing closer to God. I have been a born again Christian for many years but have fallen into a slump in my spiritual life and am very thirsty again for the spiritual food that only God can give, God has led me here, so let the journey begin.❤️
Sandy I share your sentiments,I will be three years as a disciple in November, but my spiritual life has been fluctuating and with this study I hope to learn how to worship God and grow closer to Him,the type of bond that is not shaken by circumstances but rather like Shadreck,Meshack and Abednico, worships God even in the midst of fire.
I just got back from my two week church camp and Wednesday night we have an amazing worship worship. I love it and find my self sobbing during the slower songs we sing. I never worship like that outside of my camp. I sadly can already feel my camp high fading. I would love to worship our God more.
Sometimes the atmosphere and hype of a camp or retreat is what we need to recognize the heart posture of worship that should always be present. The reverence and awe that we feel can be part of day-to-day life – even without to excitement of camp. To keep my heart in the right posture for a life of worship, I try to review notes from the speakers at camps/retreats, and sometimes I turn up my worship music, turn down the lights, and sing praises at the top of my lungs as I get lost in awe of who He is. Hope that helps!
The camp high you describe, I think, is something we all can identify with when worshipping with other believers who have so openly proclaimed their love for Christ and received the Holy Spirit. I recently had a thought in the midst of this kind of worship. I felt the Spirit moving in that place and thought, “I don’t ever want to leave here,” because I knew that the ‘high’ I was feeling would wear off soon, but I was also so tired and sore and my throat hurt from singing, and I knew it needed to end at some point. But then I remembered that this is what heaven will look like. There will be a multitude of voices singing, worshiping our God forevermore, camp high and all, and we will never tire.
I continue to be in awe of the God we serve. I don’t worship and thank Him often enough. So excited for this study and a renewed reminder to worship continually!
❤️