Worshipping God

Strong's numbers:

G4352
προσκυνέω proskuneō
From G4314 and probably a derivative of G2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): - worship.

G4576
Σέβομαι sebomai
Middle voice of an apparently primary verb; to revere, that is, adore: - devout, religious, worship.

On and off, for a long, long time, I’ve been struggling to define how someone takes time out to spend time with God in prayer and worship. I’ve read several articles relating to worship but none of them, so far, really answered the question to my satisfaction. Perhaps that’s because I’m relatively new in the Christian walk or it may be indicative of my intellectual deficiencies. I am quite able to get up early before sunrise and spend time in prayer and Bible study but what about the worship part? How often have I read that an author has spent time in prayer, study and worship!

Is it really just a case of deciding to spend ten minutes in prayer, ten minutes at worship and ten minutes in study? What are the elements of worship? Is it giving thanks and expressing love? Is worship kneeling in obeisance and singing a hymn? Does the worship period have a definable beginning and end?

Or is that worship period merely a brief overt expression of something that Christians do every moment of their lives?

I’m going to indulge myself here and talk about my dog (again) to try to illustrate what I think worship is. Mac, who passed away last year, was unique among the dogs I’ve owned. When I first picked him up and brought him home from the breeder, I thought she’d made a huge mistake in selecting him for me. Even at three months, he was like lightning; into everything, and he demanded full-on attention. In other words, he was high maintenance – not the sort of animal a self-absorbed dolt like me would naturally choose.

As big as he grew, Mac was a true lover of people and other dogs. So much so that I presumed that he would be happy just about anywhere. So when I had to temporarily place him in a kennel because I was re-blocking my house I thought he would thrive amongst the other dogs. He didn’t. When he came home he was under-weight and was so happy to see me he actually cried and wouldn’t leave my side for hours.

This dog, a lover of attention, would drop everyone and choose to be with me. At feeding time, late at night, no matter how hungry he was he would first lick my hand before eating his food. Or, if given the option, he would rather come inside with me before eating. If I gave him a bone and then took it away from him, he would simply accept it. My previous dogs would have growled a warning.

I’m about 92 kgs and fairly strong - Mac was just under 50 kgs (all muscle) and whenever we went for walks and he found an interesting scent, he would bear down with his legs so that he was almost immovable. That was always a titanic struggle. One day, as we were walking along a railway line, Mac found a pole with an enticing smell and bore down as usual to indicate that he wasn’t moving until he’d thoroughly investigated the scent. I immediately tied his lead around that pole and walked on a few metres, leaving him behind. As soon as Mac noticed I’d moved away he tried to follow. He was ready to drop that new scent, no matter how interesting it was, to be with me.

The point is that I was number one in that dog’s life. He was totally devoted to me – he worshipped me. This wasn’t something he switched on and off - this was something he lived with and gave outward expression to at every opportunity.

Mac came into my life and taught me something very valuable. He gave me an example of what my attitude should be to my Lord. Worship is inexorably linked with love, obedience and devotion. In so many ways I fail miserably to follow that example.

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I finally came across this article by Ray Stedman. I believe he hits the nail on the head!

...On the other hand, when true worship occurs, life becomes vital, real, exciting, daring, and adventurous. It is felt to be eminently worthwhile. Those of us who have learned to worship the true God know this is true. Worship is the foundation to all we do and say, and we find ourselves worshipping in some form or another all day long. It is clear, therefore, we must give close attention to what true worship is. How do we learn it? How do we practice it? To answer these questions we must turn to the Scriptures. I want to explore the nature of worship now, and next week we will look at some of the methods of corporate worship.
WHY WORSHIP? by Ray C. Stedman