Dear Readers,
I spent Month 7 at a school of worship in Hyderabad, India, so I’ve thought a lot about what worship is. I’m far from knowing, but I’ll share what little I know in hopes it will spark conversations about worship—I’d love to hear your insight.
When I say “worship,” what comes to mind? Singing songs at church? That’s what we usually mean when we say the word “worship,” but I think worship means so much more than that.
As best I can tell, worship is giving God the praise and honor He deserves. It’s letting God know that He is amazing and incredible. It’s acknowledging that God is God, and I am not. And I think I can do that with my words and my actions, or even in my heart and mind. I’m guessing the heart matters even more than the actual external actions of singing, dancing, or whatever else I’m doing to worship.
Next question—why do we worship? I can think of 3 big reasons.
One, worship ministers to God’s heart. That really becomes powerful and personal to me when I picture God as a real person that I’m singing to (or however else I’m worshipping). The Bible says that God is my Husband and Lover, so I visualize that and sing to Him just like I would to a boyfriend or future husband. Instead of singing to some unknown God way off in the stratosphere somewhere, I’m singing to the Man who is my Husband, sitting right across the bed from me. And He is enjoying it as much (or more) as my future husband will, because He is not just some God far away in the sky. He is a Person who experiences the full range of human emotions and is way more personal and relational than we give Him credit for. That’s the reason He gave us human relationships—to teach us about relating to Him.
There’s more I could say on the subject, but moving on to the second reason to worship—worship changes my heart. As I shift my attention from myself and my problems to God and His greatness, the whole world looks different.
This third reason is one I discovered this month, and I’m really excited about it. Worship is a powerful weapon for defeating evil. We can “change the world” through prayer and worship alone (though obviously we are often called to action as well). Allow me to provide you with a few examples.
Our ministry host, Julie, shared an example from her own life. There was a park in her hometown full of drugs, beatings, and crime. She and her friends decided to worship there to bring the presence of God. A few days beforehand, Julie went to the park to ask God what His heart for the worship day was. As she was praying, she looked up and saw angels in the trees, but they were in tattered robes and were drooping from exhaustion. Julie was concerned to see the desperate spiritual state of the park. But when she returned with her friends, as they were worshipping, a fireball fell from heaven, and she saw an army of angels in the trees, wearing brightly colored robes, dancing, and praising God. A few months later, they got a “thank you” letter from the police department because crime was drastically down ever since their day of worship. Praise God!
2 Chronicles 20 provides an excellent example as well. Listen to verses 21 and 22: “After consulting the people, Jeoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.’ As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.” Over and over again, God wins victories for the Israelites, and they don’t have to strike a single blow. They just obey God’s instructions to walk around the city 7 times or shout or blow trumpets. The only weapon required was their faith and God’s power. Everyone knows Ephesians 6:10—our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of darkness, but 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 is good, too. “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, our weapons have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
On the Race, I have visited many countries with histories of violence and oppression. In Cambodia, I visited a killing field memorial from the era of the Khmer Rouge, an oppressive regime that killed 1/4 of Cambodia’s population in 4 years. In Vietnam, I visited a war memorial, where I saw photographs documenting the horrors of war. In South Africa, I watched documentaries and saw first-hand the effects of apartheid on the nation.
In the face of such great atrocities, I felt overwhelmed. What could I possibly do to stop and prevent similar atrocities from happening?
I don’t know. I absolutely should be informed and knowledgeable. I can contact my government officials or take care of refugees. But above all, I can pray and worship. I will pray because my heart breaks for the victims, and I will worship because I know that God is moving to rescue and redeem and the He is worthy of my worship, even when everything seems to be going wrong.
Thanks for journeying with me through my thoughts on worship, and I would love to hear any insight you would offer. And feel free to leave any prayer requests I can lift up!
Love to you all,
Katie
