Worship is near to the heart of God! It’s through worship that we come in to His presence and draw near to Him. All throughout Scripture, the importance of worship is told. The Psalms basically are all expressions of worship. Romans 12:1 says “…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Worship is who we are- our lives are to reflect this.
Praise and singing are a huge part of worship, as are instruments and shouts of thanksgiving. Scripture is very clear about this. A number of times when the Lord sent Israel in to battle, He had the worshippers lead the way and sometimes the victory came because of worship (i.e. Wall of Jericho tumbling down). As believers, it is one of our greatest weapons against the enemy- because the Lord says He inhabits the praises of His people!
This is why it has been heavy on my heart that this is one of the greatest attacks the enemy has been throwing against our squads! It’s so obvious that he doesn’t want us unified in this because when we are, the presence of the Lord is so powerful, unifying and strengthening that the enemy can’t even come near us! When we enter the Lord’s presence as a squad/body of Christ, awesome things happen- healing comes, visions, words from the Lord, victory in all different areas, greater depth in our intimacy with the Lord, like-mindedness/unity in purpose, etc.
One of the greatest causes of church splits is over styles of worship- it’s ridiculous, really! And it’s frustrating that the enemy is trying to use that to split us up, cause hard feelings, keep some people at a distance and uncomfortable, cause confusion, plant spiritual envy/comparison, judgmental attitudes, and just a lack of unity in this area.
I’ll admit that I felt uncomfortable in times of praise together in the beginning because I felt like I couldn’t be free to worship as I wanted to, but the Lord really helped me through this. Praise can look differently for different people because we are each unique- with different personalities, charisma/expressions, and at different places in our relationship with the Lord and what He is doing in our life. I have never felt as much freedom in worship as one of our nights in Mozambique when I entered the throne room of God … it was just Him and I there. I wasn’t worshipping for anyone else, my praises were directed to Him alone. My outward expressions came from how I responded in His presence…I was sitting quietly, on my knees, on my face, and then outside under the stars dancing…it was so freeing! There is no condemnation- for those who like to sit and be quiet, those who sing loudly, those who jump, those who dance, those who exhort/challenge, those who shout out prayers to the Lord, those who raise their hands…it’s all beautiful and expressions to the Lord. The Lord has brought me to a place of not judging others for either end of the spectrum- for seeming showy or less spiritual just because of how they respond to being in the Lord’s presence. We need more GRACE with each other- not to be offended by things we are uncomfortable with but to learn from them.
I don’t really know what the balance is of this is as far as not being a distraction to others and yet being obedient to praise from your heart. I just know that I can’t be without expression- this will look differently…but praising the Lord and being in His presence is not a monotone and drudgerous thing! David danced before the Lord, played instruments, sang, shouted, wrote poetry, fell on his face, cried out, etc.- and he is called “a man after the Lord’s own heart.”
That’s my desire for each of us- real LOVE is not a boring thing, but it is expressed with great joy and peace!
