Something I am very thankful for is that God blessed me with the ability to play instruments, and with these abilities, I am able to use these talents to help lead people into worship. Though musical worship is only one of many styles of worship, it is a predominately used style. For years and years, people have stood in churches singing praises alongside the sounds of a piano and an organ, or a more contemporary praise band. In most cases, this time is beautiful; a time where people lift up their voices in song about our loving Father. A time where nothing else in this world matters. A time where we can align our heart with God’s, and give Him the praise and honor He most definitely deserves.
Although, many times, worship can be overlooked. It can be seen as just a routine. It can be selfishly used as a performance. Our hearts become consumed with pride and we begin to worry more about whether we sound good when we sing, or if we are praying the right way. We begin to judge the ones with their hands lifted in the air because they don’t look like the rest of us, or vice versa. We lose sight of the point of worship.
I recently read through a devotion by the Elevation Worship team on the You Version Bible App. The devotional was titled, “There is a Cloud.” I want to share the devotional from one of the days, and I want you to read it carefully:
“One of the greatest purposes of our worship is re-orientation. As we go about our day and fulfill our earthly duties, it’s easy to overlook our heavenly ones. Since the moment sin entered creation, our natural bend hasn’t been upward, it’s been inward. And as a natural result, we tend to fix our eyes not on where our help comes from, but on where our problems come from. Worship has the power to change that. It can take your eyes off the petty and, within a matter of minutes, change your perspective and provide a window through which to see God’s ability, God’s power, and God’s provision. That’s why when we use our voices in worship to declare God’s promises and ascribe to Him HIs glory — we’re not performing, we’re practicing. It’s an intentional effort to make our lives about more than ourselves. Jesus, the Holy Lamb of God, was slain not so we could live a life based on our preferences, but so we could live a life built upon His promises. Whatever you might be going through right now, remember the power of your worship. Allow it to shift your perspective and remind you that there is only one who belongs on the throne — and it isn’t us.”
After reading this, I began to examine my heart behind worship. Why would I worship in the past? I began to see that pride crept into my life and began to shift my mindset as to why I would stand up on stage playing a keyboard singing. I began to see I cared more about how I sounded and whether I pushed the correct keys rather than if my heart was aligned with the Father. I saw that my mind was more on receiving something from God during worship rather than giving Him all the praise, honor, and glory. I spent time in prayer asking for forgiveness, and asking God to teach me what true worship looks like.
Worship is a time where we can distance ourselves from the world, step into a safe place of love and mercy with God, and just be with Him. It is a time where we have to opportunity to do whatever we can to make the most of God and to show Him how much we truly adore Him. We can do that however way we want, whether that be jumping up and down to the beat of a song, dancing, lifting our hands to the heavens, or even drawing. Whatever you feel aligns you with God and gives you a pathway straight to Him, that is what you should be doing.
There are so many different types of worship. Musical worship is the most widely known and used, but there is also worship through art, prayer, journaling, dancing, and so on. Anything that you can use to portray praises back to God? It is worship. Worship can be used to combat spiritual warfare, give peace in a stressful time, give you joy in a depressing time, and just simply give you time to get away from the chaos of this world.
How do you view worship right now in your life? Is it just a time of routine where you make sure you sing the words right, or whether you look like the rest of the church? I challenge you to examine your heart. What is your intention when going into worship? Are you expecting to receiving a blessing from God? Or give Him all of your praises?
God deserves all the praise. Come back to the heart of worship, where it is all about Him.
Boldly,
Preston
