Worship is My Weapon

It is so important to worship God - in church and in our everyday lives. Are you worshiping Him as much as you should?

I recently invited my nephew to come to a Christian concert with me. He said that he's not really into concerts because you're just sitting and watching the musicians perform for a long time and that's just not something he likes to do. I was okay with that response, I was glad that he was being honest. He went on, however, to say that he's also not a fan of the worship portion of church for the same reason. My auntie heart sunk just a little bit at that comment, but I know that he's still pretty young and will understand it some day. Instead of having a big conversation right then and there, I simply requested that eventually he gives it a chance. I mean how can you explain something as amazing as praising our God to an eleven year old? I think it's something he needs to experience for himself before he truly understands it. That's why I asked him to give it a chance.

Worship is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as follows: To honor or show reverence for a divine being or supernatural power. I think that's a pretty spot on definition. I know when I am praising God during worship, I am definitely showing Him some honor. It doesn't have to be just showing God honor or reverence, though. Going though a hard time in life? Turn on some praise music. Is something amazing happening to you? Don't forget to praise God! Are you unsure of what you need to do next? Stop everything and just worship Him. There's always such a feeling of peace when you're in the presence of our God. A peace that reminds you that you don't have to have it all figured out because someone greater already has big plans for you. Sometimes the best solution to our biggest problems is to stop trying to fix that problem yourself, turn on the praise music, and give it all to God.

"With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever," Psalm 86:12

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a concert at Red Rocks last summer. There was close to ten thousand fellow Christians at the concert both nights and we all showed up to praise our God with all of the musicians that were performing. I can't begin to describe how amazing it was to be in such an attitude of worship with so many fellow believers. It was something you'd understand if you were there, too. God did so much for us before we were even born and continues to do so much for us now because of His immense love for us - the best way we can thank Him is by giving Him the praise He deserves. I love how David says in the featured verse that he will praise God with his whole heart. I've found it's so easy to get distracted during praise and worship sometimes. My mind drifts off to other thoughts without me even realizing it. When something like that happens, we are not praising God with our whole hearts - we're singing the song lyrics while thinking about whatever is on our mind. Sometimes it's hard to give God our full attention, but those are the moments we need to press in and give Him all the attention.

Paul and Silas were thrown into jail because many claimed that they were teaching customs that were unacceptable for Romans to practice. They were thrown into a dungeon of solitary confinement and had their feet bound by chains. It all must have seemed hopeless. They're suddenly arrested, beaten, and thrown into jail. I know I would feel disheartened if that were happening to me. But what do Paul and Silas do? When midnight approaches, they start singing and praising God as well as praying. The Bible notes that as this is happening, the other prisoners are listening to them. As it was written that Paul and Silas were put in a dungeon of solitary confinement, I can't help but wonder if they were close or far from the others. If they were farther away, that was some serious praising they were doing for the others to hear them. As they're praising, this major earthquake breaks out and literally breaks the chains not only on Paul and Silas' feet, but off every prisoner in that jail. The doors to every cell opened, too. The question is: Did Paul and Silas take the opportunity to make a run for it? The guard on duty was sleeping until the earthquake happened. He woke up to what I'm assuming was utter chaos. He drew his sword to kill himself in fear that they had escaped - only to hear Paul crying, "Stop! Don't kill yourself! We're right here!" The story ends with Paul and Silas leading this guard to Jesus. The guard then takes them home to care for them and they lead the whole house to God. The next day, the guard pleads with the city officials to set them free - and it worked. Praise is powerful!

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a holy and living sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him." Romans 12:1

Worship isn't just singing a few songs in reverence to God. It can be done through many other things, too. One other way we can worship God is by giving our best effort to whatever we're working on. Have you ever had something that you didn't really want to do, but you had to do it? It's so easy in those situations to just do the bare minimum and call it a day. There have been many a time that I found myself in that very situation - sometimes I did the bare minimum and other times, I did that task to the best of my ability. You know what I found? I felt more accomplished and satisfied with my work when I completed the task to the best of my ability. When I did the bare minimum, I left the task feeling that I could have done better. I think it was my conscience reminding me that I should be giving everything my best effort. It's what God wants me to do, and what He wants goes far beyond what anyone else requests of me. God has called us to be a holy and living sacrifice. The Bible defines this as the true way to worship Him. What is a holy and living sacrifice? Someone who is available and willing to do what God asks. Someone who will devote their everyday life as an offering and service to the Lord. That's all He asks of us. Are you willing to give your life as a living sacrifice?

As I said earlier, God has done so much for us - the least we can do in return is give Him the praise and worship He deserves. I challenge you to think of a new way you can do just this. Is there an area in your life you're not fully surrendering to Him? Are you doing your day to day tasks in a manner that would honor Him? I've devoted myself to spending more time in the Bible this year. To make a long story short, I realized in church a few weeks ago that the only time I really look at the Bible app (or any Bible) was just at church every Sunday. Since that day, I've started a reading streak in the Bible app that hasn't stopped. I am striving to grow in this area of my life. Take a few minutes out of your day and look up what it means to be a living sacrifice. There are many websites that offer lists on how you can offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God - see if you can find something you're not already doing and start working on it. You will see a positive change in your life as you start doing things for God's glory rather than your own.