Day 10 - A Heart of Worship

Freddie Holliday

A Heart of Worship

“I am a worshipper.” I hear a lot of that nowadays as if it is the cool new church slogan. Generally, when I hear these words, I imagine someone who always has their hands up with tears incessantly falling from their eyes as they cry out “Holy art thou Heavenly Father!” Yes, I know it sounds as if I am being a bit cynical but that is the truth. Before studying what worship was so long ago, I too thought that it had a specific look. I felt that there was a specific “way” to worship. There was a way that you had to hold your hands, a face you had to make, tears were necessary, and there had to be some kind of words coming from your mouth. This was worship to me, and, in some cases, this may be what worship is to some of you. Oh how my thoughts have changed. I started reading the Bible, not just to gain general meaning, but true understanding. It was here that I started to understand what worship is.

Rick Warren described a heart of worship as being a heart of surrendering. I believe this is one of the core parts of worship. As I mentioned before, I thought all worship had to do with lifting your hands and looking up to the sky. It’s not so much about the act than it is about what it represents. When the police arrest someone the first thing that they request is that they put their hands up. In war when an enemy gives up they walk out with their hands up. Hands up is a sign of surrendering. It is a sign that you are ready to stop fighting and allow whatever force to take control. In our lives, when we surrender, we decide to stop fighting our own battles and allow God to take control. In worship, surrendering ourselves allows the spirit to take over and guide us. Our surrendering allows us to see God for who He is and worship Him with the fullness of our hearts.

I once heard my former Pastor in college say that God does not care about the look of worship, but rather the authenticity. Most of us have become conditioned church goers. We know how to “do” church. We know the call and response. We know how to react when the musician hits a certain chord. We know when to say amen during a sermon. We know what is “acceptable” behavior. True worship, however, comes from an authentic heart. An authentic heart can truly submit unto God and real worship can take place. John 4:24 says “God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” God is after a person who is true in their worship. Sometimes we may jokingly say that “God knows my heart” after we have done something less than holy. The truth is, God does know our heart. He knows the ins and outs of our very being. He knows when our worship is ritualistic and traditional, and when it is authentic.

Lastly, a person with a true heart of worship must worship God with their daily walk. As believers, it is not only important to say, but it is just as important to do. Your actions and words are usually a reflection of your heart. A person with a heart of worship will walk upright before God and man. I have non­Christian friends, and in my talks with them about their experiences with other Christians, one of the things that I hear a lot is how their lives are really no different from each other. Using the same language, frequenting the same night clubs, etc. As children of God, we must walk as if we were direct offspring of Him. The word Christian means Christ­like. If we are to have a true heart of worship, we must continuously strive to walk as Christ walked. We must learn that the greatest form of worship to God is living our life in a way that would please Him.

I know this strayed quite a bit from what Rick Warren says in his book, but I believe that a true heart of worship encompasses much more than anyone can write about in a few short pages. In fact, this post is definitely much shorter than what I originally wrote! Just remember that to have a true heart of worship, we must be willing to Surrender to God’s will and way, be Authentic in our worship, and Walk in the way that God has laid out for us.

Verse to Remember: "Surrender your whole being to Him to be used for righteous purposes." Romans 6:13b (TEV)