What Is Worship?
Taken at the UTurn concert in Bangalore.
Many of us think worship means singing songs, playing music instruments, going to church every Sunday, lifting hands up in the air or dancing. Worship is much more than that.
“Worship is honoring God with your words, actions, and life.”
What does worship really mean?
Honoring God with your words, actions, and life is true worship.
In the Bible, we see what worship can do. In Acts 16:25-34, Paul and Silas were in a jail cell, praying and singing hymns to God. Suddenly the earth shook, the doors flew open and their chains came loose. That is the power of worship! When the jailer saw this, he asked how he could be saved and Paul and Silas were able to share the message of salvation.
Some of the chains in our lives might be that we are stuck in the same place, unclear about our future, depressed, sick, worried or angry. But when we worship God, we forget our problems and only focus on Him. His peace will fill your hearts and reassure us that our situation will change.
“When we forget about ourselves, our problems and worries and genuinely worship with songs and praises, even the devil will be scared of what God is gonna do in our lives.”
God accepts your worship when you give him your best.
In Genesis 4:3-5 we see that Cain gave the least from his crop as a sacrifice. Abel gave his best as a sacrifice. He gave the fattest calf from his cattle to offer to God. God accepted his offering because of his heart to give him the best. In the same way, when our words are always negative and we curse others, have a prideful heart, we cheat and lie throughout the week, then, go to church and lift our hands, saying, “God I worship you. I love you. I honor you with my life,” God just sees it as noise.
God wants our heart as a sacrifice. So, we must present a clean heart before Him. When we worship, we must ask God to cleanse us of all sins and make us pure (Psalm 51:10). Then, when we sing praises to Him, He accepts our worship. It is like a fragrance to Him. A sweet aroma. So even throughout the week, worship Him through words, actions, and your life.
Is dance considered worship?
Dancing is a reaction to the music that we hear and sing. So, dancing in church is not sin because it is just a reaction to the groove. Just like how we raise our hands when we say, “hallelujah,” when we shake someone’s hand when we say, “nice to meet you,” or when we nod when we say, “thank you.” It’s natural and we are designed to move and react to music. There’s no right or wrong when it comes to dancing. Dancing is expressing how you feel when you hear music. So, dance however you feel when hearing music.
Why force yourself to only clap when you are designed to dance and worship God!
“The worship most acceptable to God comes from a thankful and cheerful heart.”
“Worship is the intentional attitudes and actions of focusing on God.”
God loves those who love Him and keeps His commands (Exodus 20:6). We walk in integrity, love others and follow God’s commands because we love Him. That is how we truly worship God.
Here’s a video I’ve linked, where I talk more about what worship really means. Check it out and I hope it encourages you! Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel, “Stellazlife” on YouTube, where I share more about the Christian lifestyle of an every day, follower of Christ.