“Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150)
When we think of worship, the first thing that comes to mind is music. We sing corporately to worship each week in church. We play worship music in our car as we drive. Music is a powerful way to express our praise to the Lord. Melodies and lyrics often move us and capture our emotions. Music replays in our mind and is an easy way for us to meditate. Music is just one of the beautiful modalities we can use to worship him. David danced before the Lord. He played instruments. We can worship through being creative, emulating our Heavenly Father, the first creator. We can worship through art, through serving others, through poetry, through dance, through our spoken prayers. We worship him through being in nature and marveling at what he has made. We worship through remembering what God has done and sharing his testimonies. And there are so many ways we have not yet discovered.
As a young adult, I was in a wonderful group of fellow believers. We had spent several years doing life together. Some of us had gotten married and were starting families of our own. The group had started to disperse with all these new dynamics. One of our friends felt compelled to gather us all once again to celebrate where we were at in our relationship with the Lord, good or bad, and to connect us all again. I was so excited to be with everyone. When we received the invitation, it stipulated that we needed to share through some creative means: write a song, a poem, create a journal page, sew something symbolic, paint a picture. I was deflated. I didn’t think I had any creative way to express what God had been doing in my life. As I sought him in prayer for help and direction, I heard him say, “I want you to paint a picture.” I had never done that before. As I wrestled past the insecurities of trying something new, he opened up a whole new way for me to worship and interact with him. What new expression of worship are you willing to explore?
Listening Prayer:
Ask the Holy Spirit what new avenue of worship he would like you to explore with him. Ask him to teach you to move and grow through that new expression of worship.
Prayer:
Lord, I thank you for your creativity and that you have endless expressions of creativity for me to enjoy. Just as you are creative, I too want to be creative in how I worship you. Open my eyes to new ways to engage in praising you, adoring you, thanking you, and bringing you the glory due your name. Take me on a worship adventure as you teach me new ways to engage with you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Action Step:
Spend time exploring a new avenue of worship you have never engaged with before.
Resource: Bible Verses on Different Expressions Worship
“And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.“ (Luke 7:37-38)
“And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:42-22)
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.” (Acts 16:25-26)
“And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.” “And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn.” (2 Samuel 6:5, 14-15)
“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” (Psalm 95:6)
“Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.” (Psalm 96:1-4)
Worship Song:
“Love to Worship Spoken Word” by Dillon Chase
“See a Victory/What A Beautiful Name” by Jonathan Traylor