Worship

BIBLE READING: JOHN 4:23-24

I have spent the last week asking God to direct me to a theme for November, and I woke up with this chorus deep in my spirit “We worship You, we worship You O God, we worship You O God, we worship You” The song is titled “We worship You” by Dunsin Oyekan . The first thing the Holy Spirit asked me was “Why do you feel the way you do when you worship?” and I knew immediately the Holy Spirit wanted me to think deep about why I loved to worship. I have never really given it any deep thought before so I will embark on a spiritual excavation, knowing He will make clear, I have been led to devote my thoughts to worship. I do a lot of spiritual thinking when I write, and through the grace of God, what you will be reading today are my initial thoughts on WORSHIP. I aim to dedicate more time to research the topic this week, and hope to share a summary of my findings next week, should this be God’s will for me. 

I am someone who loves to sing hymns and worship songs. I find I get lost in them because I forget where I am when I am deep in worship and I usually do not have a sense of time. I find myself falling to my knees or laying flat on the floor, with my heart filled in deep reverence for God. I usually have tears flowing uncontrollably streaming from my eyes down my face and I never feel the need to curtail the time spent in His presence. 

In church, we are constrained by time when we worship, and it took some work with the help of the Holy Spirit to make the adjustments I needed to make when I became a worker in the church. Before I became a worker, when the Spirit of worship took over during service, I just continued to worship quietly on my knees in my little corner till I was done; which is why I usually tucked myself into a small, private place at the back of the church. I started my service to God as a chorister and the privacy of the choir stall enabled me continue to worship quietly in my seat, while the service moved on. After many years of being a chorister, I was ordained as a Pastor and had to be actively involved in other parts of the service; so, I learned to continue to worship in my spirit if moved to do so, paying attention to other parts of the service. While I can consciously start and stop praise at any time, I am not able to do so with worship; so I have had to embrace the freedom to worship when the Holy Spirit prompts me, no matter where I am. 

Praise usually goes with thanksgiving and the appreciation of God for Who He is and for what He has done for us; however, I believe worship is deeper because it springs spontaneously and uncontrollably from the Spirit. I have no control over worship. It does depart because I am “not in the mood to sing”. It just sits in my spirit, awaiting release. My worship starts with a song inspired by the Holy Spirit, which leads me to quiet contemplation of the Scriptures and a reverence to God that can sometimes stay with me for days. Worship is not about my emotions or what God has done for me; as I also find worship emanating from my spirit in times of trial, when all I want to do is ask, “Why is this happening”. When this happens, I submit to the Holy Spirit, so I can find peace in my trials. 

I believe that worship is about who you are in God and it is becoming increasingly clear to me that praise emanates from worship and so the deeper you worship, the more sincere your praise will be. I believe one cannot truly worship God without studying, meditating and obeying God, because worship comes from the core of who you are in Him. How can you worship someone you do not know personally or believe in? Even people who worship other human beings or deities truly believe in those people and things; which is why they worship them. They hang on their every word and obey their whims and wishes. They take the instructions handed them extremely seriously and obey.

We must learn to do the same (obey God’s instructions without questions) and stand in the purity of His Word. We like to use words we do not really and there are grave consequences that come with this problem. Without judgement or accusation, it is important that we are truthful in all we do, so we can enjoy the benefits that come with being children of God. We must remember God judges us by who we really are not who we pretend to be. Not all worshipers are true or genuine worshipers and that is why Jesus Christ “From here on, worshiping the Father will not be a matter of the right place but with the right heart. For God is a Spirit, and He longs to have sincere worshipers who worship and adore Him in the realm of the Spirit and in truth.”John 4:23-24 (TPT).

If I declare I worship God, then I must believe in Him and if I believe in Him then I must obey Him. I must desire His Company and dedicate as much time to being in His presence as possible. God has made that very easy for us by coming to live in us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. We do not have to book an appointment or go-between to see Him. He is always with us, speaking to us and always ready to listen when we speak. This, I believe, is why worship for me is something I cannot ignore or control. My greatest desire is to please God and that is why worship is an integral part of my being. When He wants to speak, He prompts me with a worship song, knowing that I will leave whatever I am doing to pay attention to Him.

As I am writing this, I have only just realised that a lot of instructions from Him and answers to my questions come when I worship. My hear is filled with immense gratitude that the Holy Spirit prompted me to meditate on  “Worship” this morning. 

Brethren, can I urge you to give this more thought. I pray that the Holy Spirit will open the eyes of your understanding to deeper revelation on the place of Worship in your life in the mighty name of Jesus Christ Amen. I do not think it is a coincidence that this topic was dropped in my spirit today. I am blessed to share my thoughts on worship with you and pray you also feel the blessings of these words.

UNDER GRACE UNDER MERCY