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Transcript:
Hello, welcome to Walking in Step with God. I am Steve McDonald. Today we explore the topic “Worship God” as we continue our series “Grow Deeper in Faith”.
So much of our walk with God involves asking for God’s influence in our lives. We ask for guidance. We ask for protection. We ask for a favor. There are so many ways in which we ask of our heavenly Father and He lovingly provides. We know that we can depend on God for every aspect of our lives, in good times and bad.
All healthy relationships are a two-way street. Think about some of your closest friends or family. Would you agree that these relationships are an exchange of communication and support?
What can we do to show up for our relationship with God? One of the most important things we can do is to worship Him. When we worship God, we are demonstrating to Him our love, our devotion, and our thanks to Him. Our worship can show God how much we honor and revere His presence in our lives.
Today, let’s explore 3 ways to worship God. While there are many forms of worship, let us discuss how all of us can focus our minds and hearts upon our Creator in a way that directs our attention away from the business of our lives and towards Him.
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Let’s take a quick break. I will be right back.
Welcome back. Let’s continue in our discussion of 3 ways to worship God.
#1 Prayer
Prayer is a fundamental aspect of our walk with God. God invites all of us to speak to Him at any time for any reason. He is always ready to hear us speak to Him – be it in our minds or out loud. It does not matter what language you speak or your religious disposition, God hears every single word of our prayers.
Often, we can become so caught up in our lives and situations that we forget to pray. We forget that God wants to walk alongside us and grow with us. He wants to reveal His presence when things are going great as well as when things are not.
I have personally learned it is important to do whatever is necessary to integrate prayer into my day. I know that I am likely to forget, so I make it a point to set aside time for prayer in the morning, at bedtime, and throughout the day. I use an alarm on my phone to remind me to pray. I make it a point to use my prayer time to have a conversation with Him, not just asking for something each time but also taking time to thank HIm for all of the things He is doing in my life – even the things unbeknownst to me.
Prayer is a powerful form of worshipping God because it demonstrates our commitment to including Him in our lives.
#2 Praise
Our God is powerful and mighty and deserves our praise. Depending on our cultural background and personality, praise looks different from one person to another. In God’s Word, praise is described as a time of joyful noise, including singing and dancing. In some communities, praise is a lively and noisy event, filled with shouts and dancing. In others, praise is more subdued, with a group of individuals singing or even speaking aloud their praise.
However you praise, be it alone or in a group of individuals, I encourage you to express to God your love for Him spoken aloud or through some method of celebration. For me, praise is speaking aloud about the things that I am thankful for. I know others who praise by shouting and running around a sanctuary! I don’t believe there is a ‘wrong’ way to praise, but the idea is to express thanks to God in a way that you would not do day-to-day with others in your life. God is not typical in any shape or form, so let us praise Him in an atypical way.
#3 Give
When we started today’s message, we were reminded of a few of the ways God gives. God gives in so many ways! God gives us protection. God gives us strength. God gives us healing.
A powerful way that we can express our thanks and worship God is by giving. In the same way that God pours into our lives, when we give, we are making a decision to pour into someone else’s life. Giving allows us to use our God-given gifts, talents, and resources to enrich the lives of others.
There are of course so many ways to give. Giving of your time. Giving of your resources. Giving of your skills, gifts, or talents. Giving can be as simple as holding a door open for someone walking behind you, offering lunch for someone who is homeless, or donating to a cause important to you.
If you have a desire to give as a way to worship God, I recommend asking Him how you can give. God knows the exact way in which you can utilize your resources, gifts, or talents to pour into someone’s life or even many others.
Wrap Up
In today’s message, we discussed 3 ways to worship God. We discussed the idea that prayer is not only a fundamental part of our faith journey but is also a way to worship God as we make time to communicate with Him. We learned the power of praise. While praise may look different from culture to culture, the common thread is that praise is another powerful form of worship that is used to express our thanks to God in a way that is unique and different from our normal day-to-day interactions with others. Lastly, we learned that giving is another way to worship God. Giving of our talents, gifts, and resources allows us to be used by God as a vessel to enrich the lives of others.
Our God is an almighty God and is worthy of worship. In our walk with Him, let us all make sure not to limit our faith experience to just receiving from God but also making time to worship Him for all of the ways that He impacts our lives. If you are not already, make worship a priority in your life today and for the rest of your days.
Are you interested in discovering more about the guidance offered in this message? Learn more in the companion article Going Deeper with the Word: Worship God
