Worship entails and encompasses Praying, Praising and Thanksgiving. Praying to our Heavenly Father, while giving Him thanks with all the accolades of praise He deserves, will transport or lead us to the avenue of Worship. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (The Trinity) is the sole recipient of our worship.
Approach to Worship
First, through prayer, we confess and repent of all our sins. A clean heart is required for worship, this prepares us to go before a Holy God. Once we have access to Him, we are free to praise Him, offering adoration and thanksgiving, we enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise (Psalms 100:4). It is here that we gain further access to the Most Holy Place, the place where worship is offered. Worship requires having an exclusive relationship with God, it is important that we remind ourselves and each other on a daily basis, since we have a tendency to forget, that we, that is, you and I, all of us were created to worship the Most High God. We are worship-beings by nature. We were created for this, (Revelation 4:11), we exist to worship God. Worship is a relationship between God and us (man/creation), and it's not to be taken lightly. God created us to worship Him, to commune and communicate with Him. Worship ties or keeps us connected to our source of life. We must cultivate this relationship daily, if we do not, we are doing ourselves a disservice by disconnecting from our life-line, which leads to spiritual death. Worship is a Spiritual function or duty. God is Spirit (St. John 4:23-24), and we were created in His image, (Genesis 1:27) meaning, He placed within us, the part of Him, which is Spirit, so that we can connect or communicate with Him anytime, anywhere—there is no other way to communicate with or to God but by our Spirit to His Spirit which is who and what He is—there is no other way to worship God but by Spirit to Spirit. The desire to worship is a part of our make-up (being/DNA), it is absolutely necessary for living. The desire to worship was placed in us from the very beginning, from creation by our Creator, our Heavenly Father. Worship is an important part of our lives, of our desires. It's in all of us to be activated, this is why, no matter how you and I are feeling, or what we are going through, no matter the conditions or circumstances, there is a natural pull on our spirit-man to worship the Father. Nothing should prevent us from worshipping.
Worship is not Confined
It should be noted that praising, and worshipping God is not confined to any one place. Praise/worship can be in a private place (such as our homes), out in nature or in corporate settings (congregational gathering). We can worship and praise God anywhere, we do not have to make an appointment to do this, God is with and within us, He is everywhere. Worship is, and goes beyond what we do on Sundays or whenever we gather corporately. Worship is us being an extension of Christ in the earth. Praying for the sick; feeding the hungry; clothing the naked; checking on our neighbours to see if they need help/assistance; helping the elderly, the widow, orphans and the list goes on and on, this is a big part of worship. It is more than a stage with flashing lights, a microphone, good music and vocals. Worship is a display of God's heart in the earth. He wants us to show Him to those who have never heard of Him so they can come to know Him, that's "worship!” Revelation 4:8; gives us a view/glimpse of what's taking place in heaven around God's throne night and day. Yes, worship is a lifestyle, it is our lifestyle, and must be lived out 24/7. It's our duty. Here, on earth is our rehearsal hall, we should take the time to put in the work now because the day is coming when we shall do this for real with the angels and elders around the throne of God. Although worship is not complicated, it is much more than the concept/culture we have created and demonstrated in our worship gatherings where we have a band of musicians and singers, and we sing, raise/clap our hands, dance, shout and have a good time— worship does entail some of this, but, remember it’s much more than that…
The Call to Worship
The bottom line is, God expects all of His creation to worship Him. We need to develop and maintain a worshipful heart, this is mandatory. A worshipful heart will help us learn and understand the core of worship each day as we journey on.
Here are just a few descriptions of what worship is/looks like:
By Minister Patricia McGregor-Stewart; Worship Leader, Vocalist, Songwriter