Come, let’s shout joyfully to the Lord, shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation! Let’s enter his presence with thanksgiving; let’s shout triumphantly to him in song. For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods. The depths of the earth are in his hand, and the mountain peaks are his. The sea is his; he made it. His hands formed the dry land. Come, let’s worship and bow down; let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the sheep under his care. Today, if you hear his voice: Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the wilderness where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was disgusted with that generation; I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray; they do not know my ways.” So I swore in my anger, “They will not enter my rest.” Psalm 95:1-11
A Habit of Worship
How does the habit of worship help to reorient our hearts and minds toward the proper object of our affection?
God created us for a relationship with Him. Part of that relationship is worshipping Him. He doesn’t need us to praise Him, He is self-sufficient. But He desires it, and takes pleasure in it, and we need it! Worship opens the way for Him to dwell close to us and us to dwell in Him. Our praise exalts Him and humbles us. When we worship Him, we focus on His greatness, His power, His presence, and it takes our minds off ourselves. It is confessing our dependence on Him and expressing our devotion to Him. It is the melody of prayer – laying it all out and laying our hearts open before him. It is declaring we trust Him, believe Him, and honor Him above all others.
Worship is a delicate balance between our reckless abandon of praise to Him and awe and reverence for who He is and what He has done in our lives. As much as God loves our praise, Satan can’t stand it. There is no greater victory than for us to bring the “sacrifice of praise” to our God in the middle of trials. Satan never wants you and me to be able to stand in pain, hardship, the unknown, and still worship God. He wants us to be defeated and when we praise, there is only victory. No defeat - except for the defeat of Satan. Our praise, lifted up to God in reverence, is a crushing defeat to him that causes him to flee. There is one-on-one intimate communication going on between us and God and there is no room for Satan.
When you come to God in worship, Come hungry. Come willing. Come expecting God to speak and be ready to hear. We should be completely open, expecting Him to change our hearts, praising Him in all things, and through every circumstance.
Yesterday in his sermon, Pastor Jim said that our lives will reflect what we worship, and that the object of our worship will define who we are. Many Christians believe they do not “worship” anything or anyone but God. The truth is if we are not intentional in our worship with God, we can end up in a superficial relationship with him while we worship other things. True worship is one of the most important aspects of our relationship with him.
True praise may be the most personal way we connect with God. True praise comes from our soul organically, it is not forced from our mind or actions. When we give Him our undivided and undistracted selves, true worship happens. Distraction is the enemy that will keep us from having that very personal and deep connection with Him.
When was the last time you engaged in true worship with God?
What are you focusing on today?
What can others see about what or who you worship in your life?
Make it a priority to make the spiritual habit of worship an important part of your walk with God every day. Let worship r
