Spiritual Worship

Psalm 96:9 says, “Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.”

What does worship mean in the Bible? In the above verse, the original word for “worship” means to bow down, and in the English language “worship” refers to reverence and submission.

How can one effectively, and through the Holy Spirit, bow down to our Lord and revere and submit to Him? How can we stay away from worshipping anyone or anything else?

Lord Jesus said that the entire law is summed up in just two commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Worship is surely related to the first commandment. Elsewhere in the Bible it says, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Worship, or bowing down to the Lord, is the product of love and fear.

Worshipping someone or something is setting them at higher standards and admiring them. For example, blindly following a competent human leader will lead a person to admire his or her capabilities, and trust will begin to form. Obeying a leader or following orders is the right thing to do in many situations, but when there is a nudging in your conscience that a certain action or decision is not right or immoral, and yet you choose to submit to the leadership, accepting they know better, it becomes an act of worship. In this case, you idolize the leader.

Another example would be submitting to fleshly desires, including ambitions. If your life involves proving yourself to people - that you are wise, capable, and can accomplish things - no matter how noble that work may seem, you idolize the work above God and worship it. It is very important to understand who or what we admire the most and keep only God at the highest standard.

Any new Christian will confesses with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, and believe God alone is to be worshipped. In this rat race of the fleshly world, one can easily flip, either intentionally or unintentionally into worshipping other things, including money, honor, ambitions, entertainment, and lust. These things can seem so valuable that they can lead someone to question what else there is in life. But God says these are worthless, which means every step in that direction is a walk toward death.

Philippians 3:8 - “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.” And in 3:19, Bible says (of enemies of the cross of Christ) “Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.”

In light of these instructions from God, it is essential (even crucial) to strip away all the idols in our lives and consider only God and His ways above all, and truthfully submit to Him. The Bible says God calls us to live in freedom, and therefore effort must be made to become slaves of Christ and not submit to anything else, for in Christ we have life and freedom.

For example, if you have been working on a project or trying to find a good business idea and keep failing, and success is nowhere near, and you begin to doubt your self-worth while everything else seems less important and consumes your mind, you are probably worshipping or beginning to worship your ambitions and goals. If you are in a relationship that you know is toxic, and God gives you an opportunity to break up, but after a while you choose to go back to the same person, continuing the pattern while believing there is no life without them, you are definitely worshipping that person.

In the first case, you need to keep focus on other areas of spiritual ambition and make an effort to shift your mind in that direction. If you are new to my articles, spiritual ambition is being like Christ (increasing in holiness and helping others) and preaching Christ. Work on other areas of your spiritual life and encouraging others, trusting that God will solve your problems in due time. Your worth comes from God and not from your accomplishments, so it is essential to be joyful.

In the other scenario, you must take the leap of faith, completely trusting God to break free from the other person, and transition your life with intentional effort toward the affairs of God. More effort must be put into loving God more than the other person and more than yourself. This is what loving God with all your mind means.

John 4:23–24 says, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and His worshippers must worship in Spirit and in truth.”

As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us, who will help us truly love, submit to God, and admire His love, holiness, and righteousness. Prayers will be sincere if you love God and acknowledge that He knows all things and is in control. This is the truth.

Lord Jesus is the way who always desires the best for us, and He is the truth. Anything or anyone who seems contrary to Him should not be held at a higher standard and should be rejected or prayed for, depending on the circumstances.

Submitting to God out of love and reverence with our heart, soul, and mind is true worship. Psalm 96 speaks about singing to the Lord, ascribing glory and honor to Him, and praising and worshipping Him before declaring and preaching to all nations. As Pastor Lukas preached, worship must precede witnessing. Singing to our Lord is different from singing about God. Spiritual worship (love, reverence, and submission to our God ) must precede spiritual ambitions.

In other words, spiritual ambitions flow from spiritual worship. If we truly admire, love, and submit to God, we will naturally and joyfully share Him with all nations. We speak confidently and passionately about the things we value, and desire for others to experience the same. If we can talk for hours about the splendor of creation, how much more should we talk about the splendor of the Creator.