Praise and worship are an integral part of our walk as followers of Jesus. We were created to worship. And more importantly, we were created to worship God. When we fail to give Him our proper praise and worship, we fall out of sync with His plans for us. This is because we want to be the ones in control of our lives, and yet worship is about declaring that God is in control and not us.
This is a pretty important topic to God. The largest book of the Bible is dedicated solely to expressions of praising and worshiping God.
Read Psalm 150.1–6.
After one hundred forty-nine chapters of prayers, praise, laments, and worship to God, the book of Psalms ends with these six powerful verses. Thirteen times this closing psalm instructs us to praise God. After some basic instructions on where, when, why, and even how we can praise Him, the psalmist ends with an emphatic “Praise the Lord.”
Let’s start by taking a look at why we should worship:
1. Worship because God asked for it.
We’ve already seen this in Psalm 150. The Hebrew word here for praise is halle. This literally means to shine or to make a show, or boast. This isn’t a reserved expression of appreciation but an exuberant clamoring about Him. Whether it is with our voices, instruments, or yes, even our dancing, we are to make His greatness shine.
2. Worship because praise is our purpose.
Read 1 Peter 2.9–10.
We may be tempted to look for the purpose of praise and worship in our lives, when in reality declaring the praises of Him who called us is our purpose. It is why He has shown us mercy. It shouldn’t be about us or the benefit it will bring us. We praise Jesus because He called us out of darkness and brought us into His wonderful light.
3. Worship because of who He is.
Read Psalm 145.1–21.
He is our Creator. We can’t even begin to fathom just how great He is. His power and love, mercy and justice, knowledge and forgiveness are all beyond measure. He is so beyond us that no eye has seen Him and no mind can comprehend Him. And yet He calls us to walk in relationship with Him. No one else and nothing else is worth of our worship. Only God is worthy of our worship.
Question: Have you ever lost your voice in excitement or clapped so hard your hands hurt? Perhaps this was at a sporting event, a rock concert, or meeting a celebrity. Why do you think we often don’t get that excited over God?
4. Worship Him for what He has done.
Read Luke 19.37–40.
Here we see Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a colt. The people of Israel had long awaited the Messiah who would set them free from captivity. While the events that followed give a clear indication that they didn’t understand what Jesus purpose was, and that the true freedom He would bring was freedom from sin, Jesus commended their exuberant praise. Notice His response to the religious leaders of the day when they complained about the people’s praise of Jesus, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
God has called us to praise Him, and more specifically His Son, who only a week after receiving the praise of these people in Jerusalem, gave His life for us on the cross. We have much for which to wholeheartedly praise Him. We need to be sure we don’t let the stones do our job.
5. Worship because worship changes everything.
While we shouldn’t worship because of what it does for us, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t bring us benefit. In fact, worship allows us to keep a proper perspective on God and our relationship with Him. This can be seen in Job chapter one, where God permits Satan to rip everything Job had away from him. In response, we read that Job “fell to the ground in worship” of God. At the conclusion of the chapter we read that “in all this, Job did not sin.” How was Job able to avoid sinning in the midst of all this tragedy? He worshiped God.
Question: When have you taken an extended period of time to just come before God in praise of who He is, and worship Him for what He has done? Why not commit to doing so this week.
Okay, so we are ready to commit to praising and worshiping the only One who is worthy of our worship. How do we go about doing it. Here are a few things to consider regarding how to worship:
1. Worship despite our feelings.
There will be times when we walk through difficult times and we simply don’t feel like worshiping and praising God. Our hearts may be heavy and our burdens seem to overwhelm us. Surely Job felt this way when everything was taken from him. So how do we find the strength to worship in the midst of our darkest moments? We need to remember that despite our circumstances and feelings, God is still worthy. And though we may not be able to control anything else around us, we can still choose to fulfill the purpose He gave us. The purpose of praising and worshiping Him.
2. Worship with everything we have.
Earlier we looked at things that we get excited about. We need to get excited about God. Rather than giving our best efforts of praise at the sporting events of life, we need to come unglued with excitement over who God is and what He has done in our lives. We need to stop giving God a “golf clap” kind of praise. Wouldn’t it be great if we were physically and emotionally exhausted after our times of praise and worship?
3. Worship expecting God to respond.
James chapter four tells us to “come near to God and He will come near to you.” Too often we sit on the sidelines waiting for God to call us to Him. We wonder why we are not experiencing Him the way we would desire. Yet He promises that if we will simply come near to Him, an expression of worship, He will respond. When we humble ourselves before the only one who is worthy, He will lift us up.
Question: What is the object of your focus and attention? What do you need to step away from, so that you can draw close to God? We will all worship something, let it be Him.
Take a moment to read aloud, sing, or shout this traditional expression of praise:
Doxology
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
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