It’s hard for me to stomach too many “worship” services these days. Why? Because in some congregations, what’s supposed to be a time of corporate praise and honor to God has become nothing more than a music concert or talent show, complete with a self-centered message and a beggar’s prayer. People dance around, sing and laugh, then go home feeling good about themselves, but what does God get out of it? Does this constitute worshiping the Lord?
As Yeshua taught in the Gospel of John, true worshipers will worship the Almighty in spirit and in truth. They’re the kind of worshipers the Father seeks (Jn. 4:23). Derek Prince took this to mean that it is our spirits that relate to God and our spirits that directly commune with God’s Spirit, and I completely agree. Therefore, it goes without saying that worship is important. But the question remains, what is worship?
Various definitions of worship exist from singing and dancing for an hour before a weekly sermon to personal prayer. In other words, you may get ten different answers if you ask ten different people to define worship. However, today, we’ll be focusing on the real meaning of worship and how we can worship God every day. So, if you’re game, grab your Bible and let’s get started.
Hebrew Words Relating to Worship
First, let’s look at some definitions. We’ll start with the Hebrew word, abad (עָבַד). Abad is sometimes translated as worship in English Bibles. It means “to work” or “to serve” out of obligation, requirement, or gratitude (Benner). It conveys a sense of one being a slave or a servant. In Exodus 20:5, the Lord commanded that the Israelites should have no other gods before him. Neither should they make images to bow down to them or worship (עָבַד) them.
When Israel was forced to serve (עָבַד) the Egyptians (Ex. 14:12), Moses commanded Pharaoh to let them go so they could worship (עָבַד) God in the wilderness (Ex. 7:16). In this instance, abad appears to be connected with sacrifice. They refused to leave anything behind, including their livestock, because they didn’t know what they would be required to worship (עָבַד), or serve, God with (Ex. 10:26).
Consequently, they would need to seek God’s will and then follow his instructions. As a result, although sacrifice may be incorporated in their worship, the focus here is on their obedience — serving or laboring for the Lord in whatever way he instructs. To obey is better than sacrifice (1 Sam. 15:22), and sacrifice is a result of obedience.
The second word we’ll discuss is shachah (שָׁחָה) which means “to bow” or “to prostrate oneself.” To prostrate means to lie down at length on the ground in humility, submission, or supplication (“prostrate”). According to Exodus 18:7, when Moses’s father-in-law came to him, Moses went out to meet him, bowed ((שָׁחָה)) himself and kissed him. Often, shachah from the Old Testament is also translated as worship.
The Greek Word proskyneo
Finally, straight from the New Testament, is the Greek word proskyneo (προσκυνέω) which means to “make obeisance” or “prostrate oneself before kings and superiors” (Perseus). Obeisance refers to submission, obedience, or homage. Paying homage is an “expression of great respect and honor” or “showing deep respect or praise” (Cambridge) such as bowing or kissing a ruler’s hand or feet.
According to Matthew 2:2, the wise men sought to worship (proskyneo) baby Jesus, the chosen King. Later, Satan tried to bribe Jesus, promising him earthly kingdoms if he would fall down and worship (proskyneo) him (Matt. 4:8-10). Now, let’s explore the biblical meaning of worship using these definitions.
The Real Meaning of Worship
So, from what we’ve gathered, what we call worship involves submission, obedience, and paying homage to a ruler or authority figure, and in our case, the God of Abraham. To worship the Lord is to honor and obey him. In worshiping him, we show love, reverence, and faithfulness toward him, not as another ruler or king, but as the Almighty Creator, the Supreme Being, the one true God.
The essence of biblical worship is to seek the Lord in all we do (Prov. 3:5-6) and to obey him as the true King of kings and Lord of lords, the ultimate authority over all creation in heaven and on earth. His commands take precedence over those of anyone else, since no one else deserves this level of honor or service. As such, nothing and no one is to be worshiped in this manner except God.
As servants of the Lord, we’re expected to obey him, offering our bodies as living sacrifices, being set apart, and pleasing to our Master (Rom. 12:1). Since our lives are not our own, but have been bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:19), we should be ready and available to serve him at all times, glorifying him in our bodies and in our spirits which are God’s (1 Cor. 6:20).
How To Worship God Daily
How do we worship God in our daily lives? What are the ways in which we acknowledge and serve him as the one true God? How can we work for him? Following Jesus’s feeding of 5,000 people with two fish and five loaves of bread, a crowd came looking for him. Jesus called them out, saying they didn’t come to him for the signs he had done, but for the fish and loaves they’d filled their bellies with.
He told them not to work for food that spoils but for food that lasts to eternal life. They asked him, “What do we have to do to work the works God requires?”Jesus answered them and said, “The work of God is to believe in the one he has sent.” (Jn. 6:22-29; 1 Jn. 4:9; Matt. 3:17).
Trusting in Jesus is our initial and ongoing act of obedience, or worship, to God. After becoming children of God through grace, we continue worshiping the Father by obeying his appointed king, Jesus, whom he has sent. When we love the Lord, that is, when we’re faithful to our king, we acknowledge and observe his commandments (Jn. 14:21).
Those who don’t love him won’t follow his commandments (Jn. 14:24). However, his commandments are not grievous (1 Jn. 5:3). What does the Lord require of us but to act justly, love mercy, and live humbly with our God? (Micah 6:8 ) What does he expect from us apart from being faithful to him and loving one another as ourselves? (Jn. 13:34-35)
Despite what some teach, we are very capable of knowing, understanding, and obeying the commands of God (Deut. 30:11-16; Rom. 10:8-9). It is the very life in us that enables us to know him, to honor him, and to commune with him on a daily basis (Gen. 2:7; Jn. 1:4; Jn; 17:3; Rom 8:11) and gives us strength to perform his will (Eph. 3:16). Through his spirit, through what we call being “born again,” we enter a new state of existence – a spiritual one. This allows us to connect with God spirit to spirit (Jn. 3:6; 1 Cor. 2:10-16).
We worship him in spirit, when we walk in step with the Spirit, not following our fleshly desires ( Gal. 5:16). When we pray, lift our hands, or bow before him, showing our respect and admiration for him, we’re also worshiping in spirit. As God is spirit, he must be worshiped in spirit, and thankfully, because of his grace, we can do just that. Additionally, by praying and studying his word, we can discover his rulings and teachings on a variety of topics. We can then put them into practice every day. By doing so, we worship or serve the Lord in truth. His word is truth (Jn. 17:17).
Conclusion
To conclude, we refer to various activities as “worship,” and while some may result in actual worship and others may be included in worship, worshiping God means to work for him, to serve him, and to honor him, and overall it means to obey him. Worship is not about feeling good about ourselves, listening to music, or having fun. It’s not about us at all—it’s about God. God is the center of attention, not us. It’s time to rethink your “worship” if it isn’t directed toward the Lord and if he isn’t the motivation behind it. Let all God’s people once again worship him together in spirit and in truth.
Bibliography
Benner, Jeff A. The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible: Hebrew Letters, Words and Roots Defined within Their Ancient Cultural Context. Virtualbookworm.Com Publishing, 2005.
“G4352 – Proskyneō – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible, www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4352/kjv/tr/0-1/. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024.
“Homage | Definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary.” Cambridge Dictionary, dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/homage. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024. Mitchel, Larry A. A Student’s Vocabulary for Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic. Zondervan, 2017.
“Obeisance: Search Online Etymology Dictionary.” Etymology, www.etymonline.com/search?q=obeisance. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024.
“Prostrate.” Etymology, www.etymonline.com/search?q=prostrate. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024.
Perseus Digital Library. Ed. Gregory R. Crane. Tufts University. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu (accessed Jan 2, 2024)
Strong’s Hebrew: 7812. שָׁחָה (Shachah) — to Bow Down , biblehub.com/hebrew/7812.htm. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024.
Strong’s Hebrew: 5648. עֲבַד (ABAD) — to Make, DO, biblehub.com/hebrew/5648.htm. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024.
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