Worship is a Posture

I pray to God—my life a prayer—
And wait for what He’ll say and do.
Psalm 130:5 (MSG)

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The word “worship” is often understood as music or thought to take place in a specific setting at a specific time, but that’s a diminishing of true worship. Worship is a posture, an attitude. When I worship, I surrender. I am no longer focused on myself but upon Another. This type of worship can occur in whatever I’m doing. I can be working out, writing a white paper, washing the dishes, or authoring a poem. Everything becomes imbued with significance when I live in a state of worship.

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Paul Celan says that art makes for distance from the “I.” Art, then, is a form of worship. I become lesser. God becomes greater.

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Worship is about encounter. When I enter into it, I am seeking to connect with the Other. Celan would use a common “other.” I am after an “Other” of another sort. I seek to encounter the Other who sets eternity in men’s hearts.

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It’s easy to lose sight of the aim of worship. The world contains many beautiful things and people. I forget that they are gifts. They are not to be worshipped. They should be accepted with gratitude and praise given to the One who created and bestowed them in the first place.

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Worship is proclamation. I so delight in the Other that I praise and honor Him with my words, my lips, my thoughts and actions. I evangelize. I can’t help it. He fills me to overflowing. I don’t have enough containers to hold Him in.

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Living in worship is a way to discover the holy in the ordinary. It makes me alert to God and His movements. When I see a dogwood starting to blossom, I look past the blooms. I seek the Creator of all things.

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Worship is waiting. It’s entering into a relationship of love and listening. God loves me and listens to me. I love Him in return and listen to Him.

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Worship is a life of relational obedience. Listening to God isn’t listening if don’t do what He says. I might as well as build a sandcastle if I’m only going to pretend to listen.

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Paul says my spiritual act of worship is one of sacrifice. I am called to live a holy, set apart life. This requires living in daily, if not minute-by-minute, obedience to God and His ways.

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Worship is praying to God, directing my life toward Him, making it a constant prayer. I wait for what He’ll say and do.

Image: Don Christner (Creative Commons)