To worship God is to give Him the only place that belongs to Him in everything: the first. To worship Him is to express our reverence to Him, that is a holy fear mixed with deep respect for Who He is.
Luke 4:8 « 8And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. » KJV
Worship always proceeds from the heart. Even in man separated from God, who denies even His existence, there is in his heart, whatever his origin or his language, an innate desire to worship. Since this desire cannot be directed to the one and true God, man will worship someone else, himself sometimes.
Revelation 19:10 « 10And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. » KJV
The worship of God proceeds from a heart that admires Him, that loves Him passionately, filled with gratitude for His grace manifested in Jesus Christ.
While praise is essentially expressed through the word, worship is an attitude of the whole being: head bent, hands stretched out to heaven with palms open, on his knees or prostrated face down before God.
The root of the Hebrew word “Shakah”, translated as “worship” in the Old Testament, means “bending to the ground with deep respect.” This term is first found in the book of Genesis, when Abraham prostrated himself before the Lord.
Genesis 18:2 « 2And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground. » KJV
Worshipping prostrated is the outward sign that expresses inner devotion. Whenever the Bible opens a window to the heavens and the activity around the throne of God, as can be read in the book of Revelation, one sees heavenly beings all prostrated before the divine majesty, paying homage, to exalt and worship the One who sits on the throne. Since He returned to the Father, Jesus Christ is seated on the throne.
Revelation 4:9-11 « 9And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, 10The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. » KJV
Revelation 5:8 « 8And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. » KJV
God seeks true worshippers (John 4:23); and to this divine invitation must respond the adoration of man. One day, willingly or not, every knee will have to bow before the Lord Jesus Christ to worship Him.
John 4:23 « 23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. » KJV
Without having to wait for this day, true worship begins today, by submission and obedience to God, Who we love passionately, even if we know that it is He who loved us first. True worship will always lead us to greater communion with the Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ. And it is only in this communion and obedience to His Word that we are revealed our identity in Him and the very reason for our presence on this earth: we were created to worship Him.
