THE “PROPER” WAY TO WORSHIP
Carey Madding
Today's Scripture: “So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.” Psalm 63:4, ESV
Theme: Our postures, including lifted hands, show an attitude of worship that will benefit us and bless the Lord our God.
STAID AND PROPER
You may know I grew up in a military household: proper, respectful, emotionally very contained. I also grew up as a Baptist. Don’t get me wrong: they did a great of teaching me the Bible and about Jesus and His love for me. But they were staid, non-emotional in their worship, and suspicious of outward displays. Many main-line denominations have been criticized as being “God’s frozen people” instead of His chosen ones!
YOUTH CAMP FREEDOM
Every summer, our students attended a youth camp. We would be fired up and learn to worship with passion. This was back in the day of the Jesus People and a revival breaking all over the country. We would raise our hands in the sky, pointing with one finger, the “One Way” symbol of that movement. There was such freedom in our worship! Our spiritual fires would be stoked and burning high...then we would return home.
Each year, I remember the passion of that first Sunday in church, singing as we had done at camp, with our full voices and hands lifted high. But the overwhelming disapproval would soon quench that zeal, and we would return to muttering the old hymns or not singing at all.
FINDING A CHURCH FAMILY
As I grew in my love and relationship with God, I found I needed a church where I could worship in freedom. I didn’t want to dance in the aisles, but I wanted to move or lift my hands or jump as I worshipped God. It is definitely easier to worship, including using my body, in a place where at least some people also feel free to do so; where not everyone has to lift their hands, but it is not frowned upon when people do.
Although worshipping with music, with our hands lifted, and with physical movement is not the only type of worship, it is one we are asked to explore and participate in throughout the Scriptures. Without joining in a time of corporate worship, your spirit will wither. This type of worship is key to fighting spiritual battles and showing your adoration of God.
RESISTING GOD
Even in a welcoming environment, I sometimes feel self-conscious. In an intense time of worship, when I feel God’s presence, I might still resist. If the lyrics specifically say to “lift your hands,” I get cranky! I wonder why the worship leaders are trying to tell me how or when to worship! Maybe you feel this way, too, and get resistant. But the Bible does proscribe how we are to worship: make a joyful noise; lift holy hands; bow down; use instruments; clap. Am I seriously going to bristle and resist what God has asked of me?
Make It Personal: God is honored and pleased when we obey—in big ways and small ways. To sulk because we don’t like a particular song or the directive from a worship leader reveals more about our hearts and unwillingness to worship than it does about the church’s worship style. Do we find ourselves sitting in the “seat of the scornful,” looking down on others as they worship? How can we become more willing to be open and participate in whatever way God asks us to worship?
Pray: Lord God, help me to come into Your presence, “Your courts,” or Your church gathering with singing and thanksgiving. Soften my heart to be willing to worship in any way You direct. Help me to bow, to lift my hands, to sing with my whole heart. I want to offer a sacrifice of praise to You, for You are my God. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Read: Psalm 95:1-6, 134:2, 27:4,6, 100:4, 1 Chronicles 15:15-16, 1 Timothy 2:8, Psalm 1:1
Weekly Memory Verse:
“Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;” Psalm 95:6, NIV