Worship is Our Highest Calling

There are many things we are called to do and be as believers, but worship is our highest calling. Married couples must love and respect each other. And if they have children, they have the responsibility of nurturing them in the ways of the Lord. We are called to spread the gospel and make disciples, and we have been chosen to live a holy life. But the first thing we are called to is worship, and worship fuels all the other things that our Lord has commissioned us to do.

Jesus said the greatest commandment was to “ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30 NIV. There are many reasons why we worship God.

Our Response to God’s Love and Faithfulness

Our worship to the Lord is a response to His love and faithfulness towards us. 1 John 4:10 NIV says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Our relationship with God was initiated by Him. Like a flower growing because of rain and sunshine, we love Him in response to His love for us. Jesus told His followers to freely receive and freely give. When we abide in Jesus we receive from Him the ability to worship God and to minister to others.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1 NIV. It is because of God’s mercy that we fulfill our highest calling to worship the Lord.

We are to worship God in Spirit and in truth. This means that our worship should be Spirit-led and word-filled. When we come to God, we are to receive from His presence and receive from His word. When we do this, God enables us and motivates us to worship God in return.

We Choose to Worship God

Our worship response to God must be cultivated. We don’t automatically love Him because of His love for us. We still have to choose to love Him back. When we draw near to Jesus, He draws near to us. We can develop the habit of daily prayer and Bible reading. This engenders intimacy with God. The more time we spend with Him, the better we come to know Him and the better we are able to serve Him.

Worship is Honest

Worshipping in truth means that we offer God our genuine and honest heartfelt prayer. God wants us to be real with Him, even if our heart’s response, at times, is angry and bitter. In life, God’s ways are sometimes elusive. We may not always understand why things happen to us. It’s at these times when we should be honest with the Lord as to how we feel. That’s part of worship.

Worship Purifies Us

Also, worship is our highest calling because worship purifies us. When Isaiah stood before the glory of God in Isaiah 6, he was in awe of the Lord’s holiness. In God’s presence, Isaiah saw His own sin. When we focus on the Lord by putting Him first, we lessen the hold of any idols that may have our attention. When we magnify the Lord, we see him as bigger than lesser things.

Worship pleases God and it transforms the worshipper. Spending time with God rubs off on us. His character forms within the person who gazes into His nature. Spending time in God’s word and in God’s presence, not only cleanses us, it builds within us His character.

Worship Makes the Devil Run

Another benefit of worship is that it is a form of spiritual warfare. Psalm 8:2 NIV says, “Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” Praise and worship stops the devil in his tracks. Praise knocked the walls of Jericho down, and praise and worship drove the evil spirit away from Saul when young David played his harp.

Worship is a Lifestyle

Worship doesn’t only happen at church or during our devotional time. Worship is to be a lifestyle. We are temples of the Holy Spirit. We take Him with us. Our life of work, rest, play and service offered to Jesus becomes daily worship.

Worship is our highest calling. It is our response to God’s love and faithfulness. Yet, we must choose to worship God in response to His working in our lives. God wants us to cultivate our worship, and He desires our honest and genuine fellowship with Him.  Our worship to God purifies us, and it helps us to grow in godly character. Worship is a tool of spiritual warfare against the enemy. Also, our worship is to be a lifestyle of our expression of love to the Lord.

When we  put worship first place, it affects everything else positively in our lives. If you haven’t already, will you make spending time with Jesus your first priority?

 

 

Here is a short article that reveals the meanings of some Hebrew and Greek words for worship. https://fromtheseshores.com/greek-hebrew-words-worship/