Learning to Worship

“I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.” (Isaiah 6:1, NIV)

Have you ever noticed in worship that we sing about God (testify) and not to God in true worship? I was thirty-three years old and pastor of a seven-hundred member church when God stepped in to show me that I did not know how to worship Him. We would sing, “God is so good. God is so good. God is so good. He’s so good to me.” We did all the right stuff. We had the prelude and the postlude, the pastoral prayer, meditation music, hymns, solos, drama, etc. The problem is that we were performers on a stage. You see, worship is what you and I do that excites God’s heart; it is not the well fitting of all the bits and pieces of a well choreographed service.

When God convicted me of the lack of true worship, I learned to imagine God on His throne, surrounded by the twenty-four elders with Jesus on His right side, as people of every language, tribe, and nation bowed in worship (see Revelation 7:9-14). I could then join in the mass chorus and sing, “YOU are so good. YOU are so good. YOU are so good. YOU’RE so good to me.”

The focus was a shift from talking and singing about God, to talking and singing to God. A deeper more personal relationship was formed with God as we talked and fellowshipped. My goal shifted, as a pastor and worship leader, to helping others learn to see God “high and exalted” and to truly worship Him.

What about you, when you join in corporate worship, do you sing to God? Do you talk to God? Or are you testifying to others about the goodness of God?

Prayer: “Lord, teach me to worship. Enroll me in your school, and teach my by your Spirit. Help me to learn anew what pleases and excites you. Amen.”