Devotionals

Worship (Part 1)

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.

John 4:23-24
ESV
23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

Read the whole of 2 King 3

2 Kings 3:15
ESV
15 But now bring me a musician." And when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon him.

Acts 13:2-13
ESV
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Acts 16:25-34
ESV
The Philippian Jailer Converted
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailerwoke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and household." 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

We are born to worship. Something someone pointed out to me was that we all worship something, if not God it will be something else. If not God it can be money. If not God it can be a person. If not God it can be your beauty or success but we always worship something.

Worship can also be a way of living. What we spend time on, meditate and think about the most can all be clues and signs of what or who we worship. We can say we worship God but meditate on people or something more. We spend more time with that thing or person but don't prioritise God as much.

Worship is powerful because speaks to who God is. Worship goes deep, it's what you know about God, and what you believe about God.

When we worship, we give God the throne over our hearts. We give Him our praise, our joy, our comfort and our everything. When we worship God as our anchor amid shaking times, when we worship God as our peace when things can appear scary, when we worship God as our all when everything is going well or even worship God as our delight when we are tired.

Worship is where God is seated. When we worship God, we attract who God is to us. When we worship God for being our peace and hope, whatever fear we had and confusion disappears and that very peace comforts us. When we worship saying God is powerful, He holds all power, we are comforted and our faith increases.

Worship builds our faith.
Worship grows us closer to God.
Worship brings us to God's presence.
Worship is what we are created for.

I want to encourage us every day before we start our day and before we end our day to take time to worship God. Something I challenge myself to do is dedicate some time to just worship God, not coming to give requests or ask for something but simply to praise God for who He is.

Our minds can be crowded with lies but when we take time to worship, we worship what is true about God. When we wake up worship our Creator, for His love, His mercy, that we are saved, that we are alive, that we get to breathe, that we have family etc we speak about who God is. God is our provider, the one who keeps us alive. God is our strength to wake up in the morning.

Before we go to sleep we pray similarly, God is the one who kept me alive this far. God helped me to overcome challenges. God loves me, God is love, God is beauty, and God's beauty is everywhere. Look at how He made the stars. Look how He made the mountains. Yet He takes notice of us?

Worship is deeper than just praising God. Anyone can praise God without truly praising Him at heart but worship comes deeply from the heart a heart that recognises the truth of who He is. The truth is that God doesn't lie, that truly God is the one who stays when everyone leaves.

I want to challenge you to remember everything God has done for you and Who He has been to you. If He was your peace during trouble, worship how He was your peace and hope. If He was your comfort in the morning, worship how He is your refuge and comfort.

I want us to grow into building a lifestyle of worship, praise, and adoration because there is power in worship. When we worship God as our deliver, deliverance takes place. When we worship God as our direction. God directs our steps. When we worship God as our peace, peace will fill our hearts. When we worship God as the one who saves, we are saved.

Worship speaks to God, it attracts God and God moves in worship.

Because Jesus added praise and worship to the Lord's prayer, we should worship God.

Psalm 61:8
ESV
So will I ever sing praises to your name,
as I perform my vows day after day

Praise and worship are done every day, every day we should seek to worship God for who He is and for what we know He can do because in worship God moves.

-etty