What is your attitude toward worship?
What is your attitude toward worship? Do you willingly and joyfully come into God’s presence, or are you just going through the motions, reluctantly going to church? *
God alone is worthy of being worshipped.* We should remember He is our Creator—all creation was made by Him. Our God is loving, merciful, faithful, and trustworthy. He loved us so much that he gave his son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins so that we could be with Him in eternity forever, if we so choose. As the one true God, He is our Father, Comforter, Confessor, Confidante, Healer, Friend, Redeemer, and so much more. He gives us strength when we are weak, courage when we are afraid, and hope when we are lost.
Yes, God alone is worthy of being worshipped!
David–An Example of Worship and Praise
Follow David’s example in Psalm 100, and worship God with thanksgiving:
1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Psalm 100 (NLT)
In our country we are so blessed to still be able to worship Him in freedom, without the fear of being thrown into prison or worse. Yet we have a tendency to treat our Sabbath day as if we are going to work or school, just another thing we have to do in order to pass the time until we can go to dinner and have an afternoon free for fun and relaxation before the work week starts up again.
Perhaps we should self-examine our attitude toward worship. Is it pleasing to God? Does it honor Him? Is it truly worshipful? If God were here in person, would He want to worship with you and your fellow believers?
Or should we be looking for ways to improve our attitude toward worship?
4 Ways to Improve Your Attitude Toward Worship
1. Pray for a Worshipful Attitude
Start out by asking for a joyful, worshipful attitude. If Satan cannot prevent us from going to worship services, he will do his best to distract us so we will at least be miserable and late. We will forget to set the alarm, we may find that the clothes we want to wear need to be washed or, if clean, are wrinkled, we’ll misplace our keys, etc. Something out of the ordinary is going to happen to get us off track and leave us with a negative, “I don’t want to go to church today” attitude.
We must be prepared to fight off Satan’s attacks through prayer. Cover yourself with the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). Read some Psalms focused on praising and worshiping God. Put on worshipful music and sing along. Call a friend and have them attend services with you. Whatever it takes to get you into a worshipful mood, try to do it.
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. Ephesians 6:11 (NLT)
2. Recognize What is Happening
Recognize what is going on–Satan is trying to make you throw up your hands and give up. Don’t do it. Keep on going until you find yourself at church, interacting with other Christians, and listening to God’s Words being preached and taught. Allow the message to penetrate your heart and carry it with you as you leave. Spend time worshiping Him.
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 (NLT)
3. Praise God for who He is.
God is our Creator. We are here because He wants us here. In fact, God created everything. Whatever we have, it is because He chose to give it to us. Look around and take note of all that you have and all that you see and thank Him for it.
for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him. Colossians 1:16 (NLT)
4. Worship God for His Attributes
There are almost too many attributes of God to name. God is our Creator. We are here because He wants us to be here. We are His masterpiece, and he loves us so much he put a plan of salvation in place with His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus chose to die on the cross for our sins so that we could spend eternity with Him in heaven. This act alone shows us how much God loves us. He is a faithful and just God, unchanging, trustworthy, merciful, and forgiving.
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NLT)
God loves us unconditionally and He is eternal, meaning He has always existed and always will. He is omnipotent (all powerful), omnipresent (everywhere), and omniscient (He knows the past, present, and future).
God is holy, the one true God, and he detests evil. Without Jesus, we would never be allowed in His Presence, but since our sins have been covered by Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, we can now have a relationship with Him free from the sin that separates us. All we have to do is accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and our eternity with him is assured!
No one is holy like the Lord; There is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God. 1 Samuel 2:2 NLT
God alone is worthy of our worship and praise!
As you read through God’s Word, you will find many more attributes of God. As you find them, be sure to worship Him for those attributes and the sovereign God that He is.
Closing Thought
By the time you’ve done any or all of these things, you should, hopefully, be in an enthusiastic attitude of worship! Carry it with you as you go to church and share it with your fellow worshippers. They, too, may need some help getting into an enthusiastic attitude of worship.
Closing Prayer
Holy Father,
I come to you this morning with a joyful song in my heart, thankful and glad to be in a place with fellow believers where we can worship you and praise you for your goodness and faithfulness. Let the presence of your Spirit surround us and penetrate our hearts.
We thank you and praise you for your goodness and mercy, and we worship you for your infinite love and faithfulness.
We celebrate you today! May all honor and glory be laid at your feet and may you be pleased with our offerings of worship.
In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen
Resources:
*NIV Life Application Study Bible, Copyright Ó 2011 by Zondervan, all rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used
