Worship can be defined as anything that we do that brings Glory to God. Therefore who we are & anything we do that brings God glory can be regarded as worship.

There is however a specific act of worship spoken about throughout scripture where people & angels will declare God’s glory to Him. They do this by singing to Him, kneeling before Him, lifting their hands to Him, and declaring the truth about Him in loud voices and many other gestures. This specific act is the predominant thought when the word worship is used in scripture. It is this act that this article addresses.

While concentrating on this act of worship we are clear that a life that does not live to glorify God yet engages in this specific act is not worship that God receives.  

John 4:23-24  But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (ESV)

What we see from this scripture is that God is looking for those who would worship Him. But we also see that the type of worshipper that God is looking for are those that would worship in a specific way, in spirit & in truth.

Three things are important to know in worship

1.    God is looking/seeking for a people that would worship Him.

The worship of God is not something that is optional in the Christian faith but the core of the Christian faith. To be the person that God would seek out or look for you need to be a worshiper of the Living God.

2.    God is looking for those who would worship in spirit

Joh 3:3-6 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.(ESV)

To worship in spirit requires the regeneration of our own spirit by the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit. This is the process of being ‘Born Again’ spoken about in the preceding scripture. While worshipping God in spirit is more than just the born again experience it only begins when our own spirit is regenerated by God’s Spirit.

3.    God is looking for those who would worship in truth 

To worship God in truth has many different facets that are revealed in scripture. To mature in our worship of God we need to grow in our understanding of who He is. As we grow in our knowledge of who He is we understand how we approach Him, express ourselves to Him & how He reveals Himself to us. This revelation of who He is in turn inspires us with greater capacity to worship Him.