Ways to Worship God

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Romans 12:1 (CSB)

Have you ever searched the internet looking for information on how to do something only to log off having more questions than answers? For example, if you search “best way to lose weight” I can promise you will get nothing but sponsored ads of pharmaceutical weight-loss aids, supplements, and books to buy on the subject. It’s maddening! My absolute favorite “answer” is the one that tells me what to do but not how to do it. Like, “eat a balanced diet.” Well, now I only have more questions!

What’s a balanced diet? How much protein should I be eating in a day? How many carbs is too many carbs (asking for a friend!)? Do I have to eat carrots?

Telling someone to do something without helping them to understand HOW to do it is frustrating for the one being told what to do.  That’s why today I want to share with you a follow-up to last week’s devotion on truly worshipping God. In that devotion, we talked about what true worship is and this week we will talk about what true worship looks like. And believe me when I say, it looks like a lot of things!

But I first want to remind us that worship isn’t just music and a sermon, and it doesn’t only occur at church. As mentioned last week, worship is our response to who God is! (In case you missed it, I have linked last week’s devotion below.)

I recently came across a quote I thought was so good I had to share it with you because it speaks to the bedrock of  how we are to worship God.

“Worship has been misunderstood as something that arises from a feeling which ‘comes upon you,’ but it is vital that we understand that it is rooted in a conscious act of the will, to serve and obey the Lord Jesus Christ.”—Graham Kendrick (British Christian singer, songwriter, and worship leader)

So, now that we understand that worship is a conscious act of the will, that means our worship is intentional, not incidental. Remember, we are responding to who God is so being intentional about our worship should come easily, shouldn’t it? Not necessarily!

We know there are things that will happen in our life that, at times, won’t make worship easy. These are the times where worship is even more important because it puts us in a right position with God—we recognize that only He is able to help us in whatever situation we find ourselves and we are acknowledging the whole of who He is—Creator, Sustainer, Eternal, and so much more.

But whether we find ourselves in a season of trial or a season of joy, we can (and should) be intentional about worshipping God.

Here are a few examples of how to do that:

Prayer:

Make it a point to talk to God every day. Talk to Him about your fears, anxieties, dreams.  Ask Him what He is teaching you through whatever season or trial you may be in. Ask to be used by Him that day. Talk to Him about it all! I don’t hesitate to ask God to help me find my keys or something my husband may be looking for. It seems these days he and I are always looking for something we’ve misplaced.

We should also always include giving thanks because there is always something for which to be thankful, even in our seasons of trial. The truth is, God has given each of us more blessings than we deserve. Understanding this abundance will guide our prayers because we know that God does not withhold any good thing from us (Psalm 84:11). We can trust Him with anything and everything in our lives.

Coincidentally, giving thanks shifts our focus off of us and our problems and puts it on God and His supreme greatness and authority. This shift in focus causes us to realize things aren’t as bad or hopeless as Satan wants us to believe. Remember, God doesn’t withhold any good thing from us so we are never without hope!

Lastly, there is no right or wrong time to pray. This may be TMI (too much information), but I’ve even prayed while going to the bathroom.  God is never not available to us. Talk to him when you wake up, when you’re brushing your teeth, driving to work, etc. You do not have to have a set time, place, feeling, or crisis in order to pray. We should always be responding to who God is and prayer is a spiritual conduit for our response to Him.

Silence:

God loves hearing from us, but He also wants us to hear from Him! Sitting silent for a period of time before and/or after we’ve prayed allows our mind and heart the opportunity to hear how God might be directing or responding to our prayer. Don’t be surprised (or disappointed) if what He speaks to you isn’t what you were expecting. His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8).

When we practice being still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10), we quiet the external noises and internal chatter and are more apt to experience a deeper sense of  intimacy with and awe of God.

Likewise, being silent in order to hear from Him before and/or after we read Scripture allows us time to linger in our worship and can be a wellspring of clearer understanding of what God is speaking to us through that verse(s).

You might be amazed at how this form of worship transforms your relationship with God!

Reading Scripture:

I believe there’s no higher form of worship than reading Scripture. When we engage with God’s Word, we engage with the essence of God. We learn more about who He is as we read about what He has done for other people in the Bible.

We see His supreme being on display and are assured that He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We see that He is actively at work in our life just as He was actively involved in the lives of those in the Old and New Testaments.

When we intentionally seek to know more about the God whom we worship, He graciously and abundantly gives us that which we seek. There is an exponential return on our investment!

Reading Scripture can look like reading from a daily devotional, a deep-dive Bible Study with a group, or simply sitting on your sofa with a cup of coffee and an open heart and open Bible. You can even listen to God’s Word via an audio Bible. God uses it all!

And you know what, reading Scripture can even be done on your phone or tablet. There are many apps available that have the entire Bible in all its translations. Most include commentaries and even suggestions for further study.

There may be many who disagree with me and believe that it’s only worship if we’re reading from a physical Bible.  I might counter with, “It’s only not worship if it isn’t Scripture.”  Like I said earlier, God can and will use any and every form of His Word to draw us closer to Him. Isaiah 55:11 assures us that God’s Word does not return to Him empty, it accomplishes what He desires, and achieves the purpose for which He sent it.

So, if you’ve never read the entire Bible, fear not! I don’t think we have to read the Bible from cover to cover in a year in order to say we read Scripture.  We just have to read Scripture daily!

I myself have never read the entire Bible, but I have tried. However, I struggle with what I believe is ADD and reading the Bible this way proves to be an unattainable goal because staying on task is not my superpower. It doesn’t take very long until I just stop reading it altogether.

To me, not reading God’s Word because you can’t follow a prescribed plan is worse than reading it from a devotional or a desktop calendar, or say a blog you just happen to love. 😉 Although, and please hear me loud and clear on this, you should always open your Bible, be it a book in your hand or an app on your phone, and verify for yourself the truth someone else is claiming God says—even what you read here—lest you be led astray.

Finally, if worship is responding to who God is, then why wouldn’t we want to know more about Him? The more we know about Him, the more we grow in Him. Start reading His Word daily and see how He transforms you!

There may be no greater form of worship than to allow yourself to be molded by the One who created you.

A word on corporate worship:

The three forms of worship I’ve talked about here are just a few examples of how to be intentional about our personal worship of God.  There are so many other ways that we can intentionally worship Our Creator. Being kind to a stranger, sitting with someone who is grieving or dying, sending food to church or directly to a family to help with the meal following a funeral service, sharing with someone what Jesus has done in your life—these are all forms of personal worship.

But there is also corporate worship and it is just as important as our personal worship. This, as you may already know, is when we worship together with other believers. This is most certainly what happens at church, but it also happens outside of church when we come together as believers in Jesus Christ to bear one another’s burdens and/or share in one another’s joys.

Corporate worship doesn’t always look like many people gathered together in a building to sing and hear a sermon. It can look like two or three people gathered together in a parking lot to pray for the needs of one another and/or the needs of a complete stranger. It looks like a Zoom meeting where you study God’s Word together each week.  Corporate worship happens in the aisles of the sanctuary and in the aisles of the grocery store. Corporate worship emphasizes the unity and interdependence of believers. This unity and interdependence demonstrates what it means to be the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

When we worship God together in all the big and small ways with other believers, our worship is multiplied and we are spurred on to help others become followers of Jesus and become better followers ourselves.

Friend, worshipping God is like eating a balanced diet. It’s good for our spiritual health and helps us grow!

How will you worship this week?

(You can read last week’s devotion here)