How are we Supposed to Worship?

How are we supposed to worship?

Romans 12:1 implies that it is not to be done solely in corporate settings. While this is not necessarily wrong, we aren't meant to "worship" in one way alone. When we think of worship, in today's world our minds will usually visualize the raising of a hand, bowing on the floor, singing, and things we see in "little c" churches. But in actuality worship is a lifestyle. Real worship looks like giving your all to God, in everything you do, not only raising a hand on Sunday. Worship is a heart posture, not a physical posture.

When someone doesn't raise a hand it doesn't mean they aren't worshipping, likewise, when someone does raise a hand, it doesn't mean they are! Someone can be in complete stillness and their heart can be in a posture of worship, and someone may also be running laps and jumping pews but their heart is in the wrong place.

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

Why do people worship differently?

Each person worships in a unique way. Each person serves in different ways. Each person works in different ways. And this is beautiful, not something to condemn.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 discusses different types of spiritual gifts, and verse 12 continues on to talk about the many parts of the body of Christ. If we were each an eye, who would be the ear? How would we help one another? We wouldn't be able to!

We worship in different ways because God created us to worship in different ways!

Not everyone will raise a hand. Not everyone will bow down. Not everyone will come to the alter. Some people will make an alter right where they are. Not everyone will stand still. Not everyone will run. Not everyone will dance. Not everyone will fall down. Not everyone will shout praises. Not everyone will cry. Not everyone will laugh. And not everyone will worship how you think they "should."

People worship differently because God created us all uniquely, we are each a different part of the body.

Imagine how boring heaven would be if everyone did the exact same thing they saw others doing. Imagine how much more powerful the body would be if we didn't do what the next person did.

What if we praised God how WE praise God, instead of how THEY praise God? What if we stopped focusing on how others worship looked on the outside, and check on their heart posture instead? Wouldn't checking their heart instead of how high their hands are raised, be a whole lot more beneficial to the body? Imagine a "big C" Church where we did that, better yet, a world where we did that.

Instead of asking "why aren't you worshiping?" Why don't we start asking "are you and God ok?"

I think we'd be surprised by the amount of 'no's' we'd recieve from people who appeared to be worshipping. Because like I said, worship isn't a physical posture, it's a heart posture!

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:1‭-‬2

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:4‭-‬12