“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness.” Psalm 29:2

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” Psalm 95:6

“Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” Psalm 100:2

The word worship, or a form of it, is used almost two hundred times in the Bible, and we see the act of praising God by His people countless times. The first instance of worship takes place at the very beginning of the Bible when Cain and Abel offer sacrifices to God (Genesis 4:3-4) and in the very last chapter when John is commanded by the angel to worship Him (Revelation 22:9).

What exactly is worship? Worship can be defined as actively showing love, devotion, and praise to God. Churches include worship every Sunday in their services. But what does worship look like on a daily basis? 

Setting aside time to specifically and intentionally pour out love to God is something that should regularly be a part of our lives. We can worship God by listening to music that inspires praise, by meditating on Scripture that leads us to praise, or by simply praying words of praise to Him.

Admittedly, I don’t always feel in the mood to worship. But worship should not revolve around whether or not we feel like it. As David Jeremiah puts it, “If we praise God only when we feel like praising God we will never praise God.” We are commanded to do it. So we should do it, and do it often!       

Recently I found myself struggling with a hard heart over a certain situation. Bitterness seemed to be dragging me down. And then I remembered David Jeremiah’s words about worship. No, I did not feel like worshipping, but I turned on my Spotify praise playlist anyway. It didn’t happen immediately, but later that day I felt my heart begin to crack and slowly begin to soften. Worship allows the Holy Spirit to come in to our souls and wash away anger and bitterness, fear and doubt, sorrow and sadness, whatever difficult feelings we may be experiencing.

It really couldn’t be any easier. We can click on a song or a Bible passage on our phone while we’re getting ready for our day, driving to work, doing chores, going to bed at night, or when we just need a pause of positivity in our day. Worship helps us turn our focus to what is really important in life: glorifying God and finding delight in Him. 

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭28‬ ‭