Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to Your name give glory, for Your mercy and lovingkindness and for the sake of Your truth and faithfulness! says Psalm 115:1, AMPC

I have a photo I took at Christmas, when my daughter was six. She likes to play with Nativity scenes, and she set hers on the piano bench. On the carpet below, she posed her elegantly-dressed Southern belle, with hands raised. The doll was worshipping Jesus.

I treasure that photo. I treasured even more when Victoria, a few years later, said, “Mama, let’s listen to some Jesus music!” and then asked me to turn it up so she can sing along in praise to her Creator, Daddy God.

When she sang so sweetly the lines to “Amazing Grace” in that pure precious voice, I know God was smiling, and the angels marvelled. 

MORE THAN MUSIC
The worship of God often involves singing and playing of instruments, but comprises so much more. As one famous worship leader wrote in her book,  “Worship should be a way of life, with many facets of expression.”

I’ll add that true worship is not an act we perform. It is love and thanksgiving, adoration and awe for the Creator and Sustainer of life, the victorious Warrior King, the Holy One Who calls Himself Daddy God to all who will believe in Him. It flows from our hearts when we pause to wonder at His devotion (John 4:24).

To paraphrase one pastor in his book, praise is what man does to give God glory, and worship is God’s
response. The LORD sees and hears and rewards us who honor Him (Heb. 11:6, Mal. 3:10, 3:16).

WHY WE WORSHIP
Why do we worship? Every human worships something; it is our nature to esteem a power greater than ourselves. So why do many of us worship Jehovah God, Yahweh, the Covenant God--Who is the Creator and Sustainer of all life, and the Father of Jesus Christ the Savior--and our Father, once we become born again through our faith in the shed blood and resurrection of Christ!

CREATED TO WORSHIP
First, it is a command. We were created to worship God (Luke 4:8), and He alone is worthy (John 14:6,19:30, 20:17, Rev. 4:11, 5:12). When we worship Him truly, we give our LORD glory by showing the angelic and demonic beings the results of our appreciation for His unconditional love (Heb. 10:1; 2 Cor. 2:14).

As one apostle says, “Angels do not understand grace. They go by the law.” The holy angels worship the LORD constantly and purely, and long to understand the mysteries of the New Covenant (I Pet. 1:12). As we worship, we understand more.

When we humans worship it is a choice. But personally, the closer I get to God and the more I realize all He’s done for me, the more compelled I am to worship. It just flows out of my spirit—my heart. I cannot stop it. Nor do I try. And He who is worthy loves it!

The LORD says in Psalm 100:4 to “enter His gates with thanksgiving, to enter His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him and bless His name.”

This indicates to me that we cannot deepen that supreme relationship without a thankful heart. When we are thankful to God, we worship. And we have the power to choose to be thankful!

Second, we worship the LORD to drive out demonic spirits and prepare our spirits to hear and believe His holy Word to enter our hearts and build our faith (Rom. 10:17).

Since evil entered his heart and he was exiled from Heaven (Luke 10:18), the devil our enemy has been envious of God and works to steal the worship that belongs to the LORD alone (Luke 4:5-8, Matt 4:10). And he certainly comes to steal the Word if he can. So let us worship truly, prepare, and receive the Word.

Third, we worship because it changes us; it frees and delivers and heals. God lives in our true praises (Psm 22:3) and as we worship Him, we forget ourselves, we allow Him to create in us hearts more holy, and to expand our understanding of His greatness. The more we worship, the more we realize our lives are not ours (I Pet. 1:18,19), and that true freedom is submitting to the wonderful, abundant, fulfilling life of the living God, called in the Greek “Zoe,” or “life as God has it.”

For help to choose verses on worship and proclaim them over your children and yourself, check out Part 11 of this series. But even better, ask the LORD Who knows you better than you know yourself to lead you to exactly the right Scriptures for your children and you. He will, and delights in you asking Him! 

Through books, courses, presentations, service, prayer, worship, and more, Tonja and her husband live to exalt God. Her series for girls, P.O.W.E.R. GIRL ADVENTURES, is now out (books I-V), along with LEGACY; YOUR HOLY HEALTH: VISIONS OF THE KING, and more. See the "River Rain Creative" YT channel.