I’ve been thinking about this since I’ve been here in the D.R. Our church has services almost every night and for the first week or so I would stand and listen to them sing. Maybe I would clap my hands a little, but without being able to understand their words, I felt like I couldn’t participate. Then one night I was standing there and I thought, “Why can’t I worship?” ” If my heart is in the right, it will be a sweet melody to God”. So I raised my hands, picked up their rhythm, and sang, ” Thank you Jesus, you are holy” over and over again to every song. This is one of the times that I’ve felt closest to God while worshiping. I really love to sing hymns and they can be very encouraging, but I’m finding that when my heart is filled with gratitude and adoration for God, all I want sing is a simple phrase like, “Thank you Jesus”, “I love you Lord”, “you are Holy”, “you are my God”, or something like that.
Now straying a little from that thought, I think that worship involves more than singing. I think we worship God thru our actions, thoughts, and faith. I think that taking five minutes to stare at a sunset and say “Wow God, you really out did yourself today” is just as sweet to his ears. If you read in the gospels about the people that Jesus healed it often says something like “And they fell down and worshiped Him saying, Lord if you are willing you can make me whole”. Our acts of faith and obedience are also worship to God. Our worship is our acknowledgment that God is God, and he is all-powerful.
