In the Old and New Testaments, there were laws and regulations on how the normal man or woman should, or even could, approach God in worship. Thankfully for us, Jesus eliminated these age-old and confining rituals and gave us immediate and straight forward access to God. Yet, for many of us, we still wonder: “Is there a wrong or right way to worship God? Should I kneel when I pray? Should I only pray when I’m in the proper state of mind? Is worship best on Sundays alone?”
I believe worship is a very personal thing. It’s a conversation between you and God. It’s a moment in time where you can not only praise God but also prize his blessings, contributions, and actions in your life. It’s an act of love rather than an act of obligation. And that’s why I don’t believe we should cloud it with “have tos and musts.” Once you begin putting “whens, hows, whys, whats and wheres” into your worship, you lose the authenticity and spontaneity that should be inherent in worship. The moments where you’re able to feel awe-inspired for God’s gifts or thankful for God’s blessings. If you have to wait until the moment’s right, either you forget, or the genuineness of the emotion is gone altogether. God wants to share a continual ongoing relationship and conversation with you and loves the praise and accepts the thanks regardless of where you are or what spurred the emotion.
Now, one thing worship shouldn’t be is boring. Unfortunately, when you go to church and look around, many people look bored. They are looking at their watches, picking at their nails, yawning, or blatantly sleeping. And it’s not just at church. They are doing the same thing during Bible Study or prayer. They are merely biding their time until worship is officially over and they can move on to the next thing. This could be the pastor’s fault (I mean he/she could be boring), but moreover, it’s the listener’s fault. They are not interested in participating in this dynamic and life-giving act of worshiping or fellowshipping with God, and therefore they are deliberately missing out. True worship is anything but boring, but it takes effort, concentration, and pure adoration on your part. Worship should be infused with joy and thanksgiving, and those are two actions that never bear the hallmarks of boredom.
Although I say worship is personal, I also believe it’s essential to share your worship with others. Every Sunday, I take my personal worship studies and broadcast them to you in hopes that the “aha” moments that transcended me during my personal Bible study will also touch you.
