Human beings have many things that we were created to do. We have two legs because we were designed by God to walk upright. We have opposable thumbs because God designed us to hold items in our hands. There are also emotional facets of our being such as the maternal instinct in women. My wife for example, gets weepy (tears of joy) whenever she sees a baby.

On that note, have you noticed that humans have an innate desire to worship? I just don’t mean in the days of old where people would worship the sun, and other parts of nature, either. If a person is not worshiping a deity, they might worship music artists, political figures, family, money, or numerous other things.

Why did God give us this desire? God designed us like this so we would worship Him and only Him. Other items fail us, die, or rot. God is a constant - he was here before the universe, and will be here long after the world as we know it is gone.

Worship is defined as:

The expression of love and devotion to God through participation in Divine rites and/or services and through personal prayer. (saintpauls.org/glossary/w.htm)

Want some practical ideas on building your life of worship through both services and personal prayer?

• Stay connected to God’s Word - If we read the Bible on a consistent basis, we get to know God. We learn more about our savior, Jesus Christ. The more we are knowledgeable about the amazing character, works, and promises of God, the easier it is to worship him.
• Do a personal study on the word, “worship” - The purpose of this is to see how people in the Bible define and live out worship of God. There are plenty of do’s and don’ts throughout God’s word to direct us.

  The “old school” method of personal study involves using a Bible concordance to find all references to worship. The “new school” method (and the easiest) is to get a free copy of E-sword. This Bible study software does not contain any spyware, and they don’t ask for any personal information (no annoying emails). The software has a search feature that is extremely easy to use, and you can target specific books of the Bible in addition to searches of the entire text.

• Worship God in your prayer time - Try raising your hands to the Lord in your prayer. The act of raising our hands in praise is both symbolic of us reaching out to God, and also of “letting go”. Perhaps you saw the movie, “Titanic” where the main characters are at the bow of the ship and lean out with their hands outstretched to feel like they are flying. We may experience similar sensations by doing this with the Lord.
• Worship with music - If you play an instrument, do so for the Lord and incorporate that into worship time. If you don’t play an instrument, just sing to the Lord - it doesn’t matter if our singing voice is pretty bad. God loves it anyway. Think of it like when a little child makes you something. The parent only cares that their child made it for them and does not judge the artistic quality of the piece.
• Mix up your church attendance for a day - Often people are timid about worshiping God corporately. Oddly enough, I have had problems with this when my wife was with me in church. If I’m at a men’s retreat or in church by myself - no problem. We pray together all the time, so I don’t really have a good reason for it - just deception from satan.

  If you find yourself in a similar situation, either go to a different church for one Sunday, or attend a service at a different time where you may not know as many people. If you visit another church, go where people worship the Lord in an open fashion. It doesn’t have to be pentecostal - in America, many of the community churches are moving in that direction. Ask around - someone will be able to tell you. Go by yourself that day and just worship the Lord.

Please add other suggestions

I hope this list is helpful to anyone looking to improve their life of worship with the Lord. Please add any suggestions you may have by clicking on the “Add comment” link below.

Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to poke around the site. If you are looking for greater wisdom, I invite you to check out the series we recently finished, entitled “30 Days to Wisdom”. Click on the “God’s Wisdom” category on the right of the screen to find the articles.

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