Born to Praise – Planetshakers
The Bible defines worship as reverence and adoration for God. But to really understand what true biblical worship is, you need to go deeper.
One example is when King Jehoshaphat asked his people to praise the Lord in front of the army before battle. Scripture says as soon as they started praising, the enemy was sent running!
1. We’re Made to Praise His Name
We’re often told that praise involves singing louder songs and faster rhythms, clapping, dancing, and giving thanks. Worship, on the other hand, is said to involve kneeling down and bowing before a Holy God with eyes closed in reverie.
The truth is that both worship and praise are important to our walk with the Lord. In fact, one of the main reasons that God created us was so that we could praise His name.
When you praise, you honor and exalt the worth of His name. You’re also expressing gratitude and respect towards Him for who He is. The word praise comes from a French term that means “to prize.” In biblical terms, to praise God is to esteem Him highly and exalt His holiness and goodness. The psalmist calls on the sun, moon and stars, clouds and rainstorms, sea monsters and all creatures of the deep, fire, hail, snow, stormy winds, mountains and hills, fruit trees and cedars—all to praise the LORD’s name!
2. We’re Made to Worship in Spirit
One of the most important things we need to understand is that worship is a spiritual experience. Jesus spoke about this in John 4 when He told the woman at the well that God is seeking worshipers who will worship Him “in spirit and truth.”
When we talk about praise and worship, people sometimes have a different idea in mind than what the Bible defines them as. They think of a church service with music and singing. They may also associate praise with the words of a song that speak about God’s goodness.
However, if you were to look at the 7 Hebrew words for praise it would paint a much broader picture than what we tend to imagine when we hear the word praise. Praise is about magnifying God for who He is and declaring His worthiness. It includes honoring Him for His goodness and thanking Him for all that He has done and what He continues to do through Christ.
3. We’re Made to Worship in Truth
When it comes to our relationship with Christ, worship is one of the most important things we can do. It’s also something that can be done in both a group setting and on an individual basis.
Praise is often characterized as magnifying and honoring God for who He is and thanking Him for his many kindnesses. But true worship goes beyond praise, and is more of a deep personal expression of faith, hope, love, joy, humility, thankfulness, and adoration.
This type of worship is rooted in truth and engages the heart. It’s a way to connect with Him and reflect His glory to the world around you. It’s not limited to church, and you can worship Him while walking down the street or before a staff meeting at work. But it’s important to be sure the songs you sing are based in biblical truth and not erroneous doctrine. Because that’s how you can truly worship Him in spirit and in truth.
4. We’re Made to Worship in the Power of the Holy Spirit
In order for praise and worship to be genuinely effective, it needs to come from the heart. The Bible states that it’s possible to go through all the outward religious motions and not actually worship God (Psalm 51:16-17). The key word in that passage is “heart.”
What’s true is that the birthplace and essence of true praise is inside each individual human heart. It’s there that the glory of Christ awakens and ignites Christ-exalting affections in our hearts, which then flame up expressions of praise to God and to others. It’s there that corporate reality of the worshiping church is brought into being as these individual burning hearts of praise give rise to corporate expressions of worship.
As we engage with the Lord in praise and worship, He releases His power to bless us. This happens as His Holy Spirit indwells us and equips us with gifts for the work He has called us to do.
