Lets admit it. During these days of being in lock down mode, because of the pandemic, many of us are missing out on the potential for amazing worship. Living apart has put a serious drain on every Christian’s ability to worship as a congregation. When I think of amazing worship, I am thinking of the moment when we are worshiping God, and suddenly you feel a stillness in the room? It is a palpable moment, when it feels like something powerful just happened . We recognize it as a moment when the place becomes holy.
I know, and agree with others, that we can worship God on our own. I am referring to being together in church with other believers We need the encouragement and assembly of believers. Hebrews 10 says : 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. It becomes an earnest and important reason for assembling together.
We are encouraged to come together, and to encourage one another. There is a passage in Isaiah 6 that explains why. At first glance it may not seem to be the ideal verse to explain worship, but it is concise in its brevity to explain worship. Let’s look at it closely.
Declare Praise
6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
These words provide an amazing description for what we can feel when we are in God’s presence. Its our initial response to who God is. It is especially important to understand that we share an experience together. Praise is the first part of this worship experience. This shared experience helps declare who God is.
This declaration of praise to God is only the beginning. Continuing in the Isaiah 6 passage, it says 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
God responds to Praise
Worship is not meant to be a one way event. It is a type of conversation with God. In response to our declaration of praise, God responds. God’s response to our declaration of praise includes his declaration, of sending. When we are in worship and God is responding, we can feel it. Of course, at such times this “feeling” can be difficult to explain.
The experience of worship will vary with each person. Individuals need to find the path that allows us to focus on God in a way that can speak to you. In a high church situation with lots of liturgy, some people may find the setting too formal, without much room for experience. Our best moments may vary, but certainly our best worship occurs when we can magnify the moments together and direct it toward God.
Amazing worship is most likely to occur in an ordered setting, in a church. For myself, worship can also happen while I am doing repetitive work, such as painting a room, or doing yard work. I can focus on the worship moment with total abandon, and the work simply occupies my body while my soul and spirit can celebrate. It is a personality thing for me. I know the worship experience is different for others. I enjoy process, so I get to worship during the process of helping to prepare the technical aspects of worship, as well as during a service.
It is important in our relationship with God to seek out time for worship. The best example I have read (which also does a complete review and consideration of worship) is a great ebook: How To Worship a King: Prepare Your Heart. Prepare Your World. Prepare The Way By Zach Neese. Zach says it took him about 15 years to write it. He does a great job explaining and expressing the ideas related to worship from the perspective of Old and New Testament and his own experiences.
