Rediscover the Bible for Life
“Praise is a Change Agent”
by Dennis Lee
“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” (Psalm 95:6)
Someone said, “Man worships his work, works at his play, and plays at his worship.”
This describes our worship more than many of us would like to admit. We come to a worship service, where the Lord is the one we have gathered to honor, only to half-heartedly sing of His worthiness. We then leave thinking we’ve done something great for God.
“These people draw near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me.” (Matthew 15:8-9a)
The word worship comes from an Anglo-Saxon word pronounced “worthship.” It means God is worthy of our love and adoration. He is worthy of all the honor we can muster and then some. We can see this in what the angels and saints say in heaven.
“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created … Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” (Revelation 4:11; 5:12)
We can worship like this by focusing on Him, by reading His word, and finding out just who and how great and marvelous He is. Only then will we have a greater appreciation of His worth. The more we comprehend what God is like, the more we’ll worship Him.
When we gather with other believers in worship we need to have our focus where it belongs; on God and not on others, or on the football game coming up on TV, or what’s for lunch. When we’re not fully engaged, we’re not really worshiping. This applies not only to our singing songs of praise and worship, but also when God’s Word is being read or taught we need to be thinking of how it applies to our life.
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24)
Before this can take place, we must have the Holy Spirit within, or as He is called in John 14:17, “the Spirit of truth.” Without the Holy Spirit there is no true worship happening. It’s the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, who motivates and inspires worship, and who better since He is the third person of the Godhead.
It is the Holy Spirit who brings us into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and who reveals the fullness of God through the truth of His Word. Worship is our way of showing God how much we love Him by truly honoring Him both within and without the walls of the church.
The above article was taken from my book, “From Here to There: A Journey to Spiritual Transformation,” talking about praise being an agent of change for God. You may pick up your copy at http://spiritualtransformationseries.com/store/
