The word Worship is a verb, meaning it is an action word which requires an act. Now, The Hebrew word for Worship is SHACHAH, which means to bow down in reverence. The biblical description of Worship is found in Philippians 2:9, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth”.
Also, in Genesis 24:26, “And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD”. A great example of True Worship is found in the story of Mary Magdalene. The bible records that after she got saved by Jesus, she became firstly a true worshipper, before she became a preacher of the Gospel.
John 12:3-8, “Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
Another example of a true worshipper is the widow who gave her last two pennies into the offering basket at the temple, alongside the rich people who also gave their offerings. It was not the amount of money that the widow gave, that impressed Jesus. Rather, it was her (a) Reverence fear of God despite her poverty (b) How she honoured and worshipped God through her giving, and (c) Her dead-to-self Attitude (the right attitude).
To worship God in Spirit and in Truth, is not cheap. Instead, it is costly because it requires you to die to self-daily, by surrendering your will to God. Mary Magdalene spent her hard-earned money to buy an expensive perfume for Jesus. She humbled herself by kissing the feet of Jesus and wiping His feet with her hair. She literally embarrassed Jesus with her deep love, generosity and sincerely worship. Worship is expensive because you must sacrifice your will, life, time and possessions to God.
2 Samuel 24:21-24, “Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant? “To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped. ”Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. Your Majesty, Araunah gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the Lord your God accept you.”
But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So, David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels[e] of silver for them. David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.
When we worship God, it is not our mere words, but our spirits that worships God. We are born to worship God above all other things. Our worship are tokens that buys us favour with the Lord, just like money buys us food. Worship will preserve your life. Psalm 115:17, “The dead cannot sing praises to the LORD, for they have gone into the silence of the grave. But we can praise the LORD both now and forever! Praise the LORD”.
Worship will demonstrate the level of your faith and reveal how much you trust God. Worship begins with the revelation of God, and through worship, you will get more acquainted with God. To Worship God is to acknowledge God’s greatness and His divine nature. Worship is a mighty weapon for the Believer in Christ, it destroys the works of the darkness. It is extremely powerful. It was worship that brought down the walls of Jericho, and it also broke the chains of Paul and Silas prison.
The devil detests worship because worship will always bring down the divine presence, and dynamic power of God into our lives. The truth is this, the devil openly and immensely misses worship and fellowship with God. Worship is a time spent loving, honouring and giving glory to our King, our God. It is a time where all focus is on God alone because He is faithful, merciful, loving, kind, awesome and powerful.
Our worship to God, is our honourable service and obligation to God. John 4:24 states that “The true worshipers will worship God in spirit and in truth”.When God first created man, He made man to have fellowship with Him. Worship is fellowship with God. It is God’s plan that we become worshippers first, before we take on any other roles on the earth and in Heaven. To worship God in Spirit and in Truth means our that spirits, souls and bodies are worshipping God earnestly, through Faith. For without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who Comes (Worship) Him, must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6
True worship begins with (1) A prepared mind, (2) grateful heart and (3) A humble spirit.When you are giving a glass of water to your guest, you should make sure that the cup is clean, therefore making the water clean. So is true worship. True means pure, and Worship means reverence fellowship. Meaning pure and reverential worship.
6 Ways That We Can Worship God:
1. Praises and thanksgiving: Psalms 150:6, “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD”.
2. Prayers and Fasting: Luke 18:1, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up”
3. Our Service – Time spent doing His work: Romans 12:11, “Never be lacking in zeal, but be spiritual fervent, serving the Lord”.
4. Our Substance – Money and wealth: Proverbs 3:9, “Honour the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops”.
5. Spending time reading God’s word (Bible): Joshua 1:8, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful”.
6. Our Lives – Living godly lives on the earth (Holiness): Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will”.
Our sacrifice of love, is worship to God. Example of such is Cain and Abel’s sacrifice offering to God. We can never substitute worship to God for anything else because our worship is our eternal duty to God. One major character that we will take with us when we leave the earth to Heaven, is worship. When we worship God, God sees only our perfected spirit, and not our faults and errors. Therefore, at the moment of true worship, we are perfect in the eyes of the Lord. This brings us to a place of miracles, where we can freely receive from God every good and perfect gift.
Worship with cause you to be humble and surrender to God’s will for your life. One of the quickest ways to grow in the spirit and develop your relationship with God, is through worship. God has not called us to be nothing but True worshippers. When we preach the word, win souls, help and love one another, we worship God. Do not make a habit of sacrificing to the Lord that which cost you nothing. Solomon shows us after he sacrificed a thousand burnt offerings to God, that through great worship, God will bless and speak to us.
Worship requires us to be disciplined, patient, consistent and have integrity. True worship rendered to God, will preserve the condition of your soul. It will bring and keep your focus to God and enable you to love the things of God. An example of true worshippers is the Five Wise Virgins in the parable of the Ten Virgins, who preserved the Holy Spirit in them, through worship. Worship will cause God to choose you to perform His work. – This is because through worship God will train you to do his will.
One major thing that the Holy Spirit revealed to me is this: The prayer of a True worshiper, does not wait in the queue like the prayers of others. Instead, God hears and respond to it immediately. Example was Daniel, in Daniel Chapter 10. The Bible records that when Daniel fasted, prayed and worshiped God, God heard his prayers immediately, and Therefore He sent help to Daniel.
13 Things That Happens When We Worship God?
1. God will open His court to us: Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need”.
2. Our spirit is in sync with God: Galatians 5:25, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit”.
3. We come into the realities of God, where nothing is impossible: Matthew 19:26, “And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”.
4. We give God all adoration: Psalms 86:12, “I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever”.
5. We are acting in accordance with God’s will for us: Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.
6. We put the devil to open shame, and we conquer the works of darkness: Colossians 2:15, “And Jesus having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross”.
7. We obtain godly Favour: Proverbs 3:4, “Then you will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man”
8. We get Justice and receive Mercy: Proverbs 21:15, “When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers”.
9. We are empowered and Refreshed: Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”.
10. We are divinely protected: 2 Thessalonians 3:3, “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
11. We make God our only focus: Hebrews 12:2, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”.
12. We are blessed and highly rewarded on earth and in heaven: 1 Corinthians 2:9, “However, as it is written: What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him”.
13. We are practicing our eternal roles in Heaven: Revelations 4:10-11, “The twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being”.
In closing, we must make a conscious and deliberate decision to worship God always, in everything and with all things. We must learn to train ourselves to die to selves and live for God. We must endeavour to live in holiness because holiness is Worship, and we can only worship God through holiness.
Praise God!!!