Take time each day for gratitude. Just say thank you to God and keep on saying it. If you want to be specific, there is so much to be thankful for. Thank God for comforting you and leading you. Give thanks for family, friends, and the goodness of other people. Express appreciation for the beauty of nature and the adventure of living. Allow your words of thanks to become words of praise and adoration. Enter into the joy of worship.
You may be puzzled by the word “worship.” In our secular age, it seems like something appropriate only for ancient people who prostrate themselves before the idol of a demanding god. But worship is alive and well in these rational times. Think of how people flock to see a famous person. We go because we want to be near that person, and the experience of adoring that person seems well worth the trouble. Think of how crowds react to musicians during rock concerts. Our celebrity-crazed culture is a form of misplaced worship. The desire to worship seems to be built into us. If we don’t worship God, we will find someone or something else to worship.
The unrecognized spiritual longing to worship can cause us to lapse unwittingly into temptation. A spiritually growing person will begin to experience urges to worship. If we don’t recognize this longing for what it really is, we may reach for food in the vain attempt to satisfy this unnamed need. Just as we fell into temptation when we needed to play, we may be intercepted by temptation when we need to worship. Worship provides a deep satisfaction that all our pleasure-seeking activities cannot possibly give.
Allow your soul to be satisfied with the inspiration of true worship. It is something you long for after you’ve experienced it. It is restful, yet stimulating. It is fulfilling and inspiring. Worship is good for us. It helps us to know God and become more like him. It refreshes and rejuvenates us. Worship is an intimate and joyful experience with God.
Freely give your adoration to God. We give our love and adoration to God without thought of receiving, yet in fact we do receive. In worship, we are forgetting about ourselves while standing in awe of the magnificence of God. Worship asks nothing and places no expectations upon God. Be receptive and inviting to the presence of God. Occasionally, you may feel swept up in a mountaintop experience; but do not expect that to happen. A subtle, quiet communion with God is refreshing and stabilizing.
Sometimes worship arises spontaneously. Music can bring on a thankful feeling. The beauty of nature often elicits a feeling of awe for God’s universe. A realization of truth can move us to reverence. The relaxation of meditation is useful in the practice of regular worship. The availability of group worship is a great blessing. Be aware, however, that perfunctorily going through an order of worship is not worship; neither is the encouragement of extreme emotion. The design and content of many services of worship so often keep us at arm’s length from God. Performance can easily get in the way of worship. Look for communities of worship led by a socially mature and spiritually inspired person. The music and ritual should lead you into a real and satisfying experience with God.
Worship and service are essential in the religious life. If you try to serve without worshipping, you will gradually burn out. If you worship without serving, you’ll wonder why worship has become less and less satisfying. True worship of God inspires us to serve our fellows. Conversely, loving service makes us long for communion with God in worship. Worship is like breathing in, and service is like breathing out. We receive the Heavenly Father’s love in worship and pour it forth in service to our brothers and sisters here on earth.
As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and behold the face of God?
Psalm 42:1–2
