Psalm 29:2 English Standard Version
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
Psalm 95:6 English Standard Version
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
John 4:23 English Standard Version
23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
Psalm 40:8 English Standard Version
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”
If you ask Christians if they truly worship, most will say definitely so.
However, if you ask Christians to define worship you will get several different answers.
In the dictionary, you will find worship defined as the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity and to show reverence and adoration with religious rites.
So, before proceeding, consider the question “How do you worship God?”
Under the Old Covenant, animal sacrifices were made in religious rites or rituals. Jesus ushered in the New Covenant and paid the ultimate sacrifice for humankind’s sins. Now, we have nothing we must offer to God except our worship of Him.
So, what is worship?
It is our spiritual sacrifice that we offer to Him. It is humbly bowing before God in spirit, lifting His name in praise, glory and honor, thanking Him for all things. It is communing with Him through prayer and meditation or singing of hymns. It can be done sitting in a pew, standing in your room or office, sitting at a desk or walking through the woods. In other words, we can worship God any place and any time.
We worship God in two different forums;
- First, we worship in public church services
- Secondly, we worship individually, in private
Regarding public worship, on average people are in church services about 3-5 hours per week. If and this is a big “if”, we truly worship every minute of these hours, we spend up to 2.97% of our time in worship.
That is right. Only 2.97% of our time. For some, maybe many, this is their total offering of worship to God.
Please think about this; 2.97% of our time is a paltry amount. God truly expects more from us.
Our individual private worship takes place during the remaining 97.03% or our time. In private, we praise, magnify and glorify God.
1 Corinthians 10:31 English Standard Version
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but the worship that I do in private brings me closer to God than most public worship services. I’ve found that private worship is more important in my life, but this doesn’t mean it holds true for everyone.
Worshipping God pleases God, but more importantly, it brings us closer to God. God expects and demands obedience and worship, both of which are for our good and will increase our faith, trust and closeness to Him.
No matter how or where you worship God, the key to a closer communion with Him is to worship Him regularly and often. Not just 2.97% of the time.
Learn to humbly bow in spirit and lift His name in praise, glory and honor. Worship Him in spirit and in truth. Do this at different times of the day, regardless of where you might be.
One key to spiritual growth and a closer walk with God is to worship Him often each day. So our prayer is that you will delight to do the will of the Father and offer your spiritual sacrifice of worship each and every day.
RVH