Have you ever been in your car with the radio on, the song changes, and it’s your “jam”? You instantly turn up the volume, begin singing out loud, and don’t have a care in the world how you look when people drive up next to you. Don’t be bashful—it happens to us all! There is just something about music that can shift our mood and posture in a moment.
It’s no wonder Scripture is packed full of references to music and people singing to God. Throughout the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments, we learn the significance music and singing praises to God plays in our spiritual lives. It is what you and I call worship.
The word “worship” is both a noun and a verb. It is both a thing and an action. Worship is an actual expression of reverence and adoration for God and is also the action of showing reverence and adoration to God. Worship through singing praises to God is a vehicle through which we experience God and give Him honor. We know this from God’s Word and through personal experience.
Let’s start at the beginning. Genesis 1:1 states, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and created man in His image…”. All of creation points to Him, and our response is to praise Him—to worship. From Genesis through the end of Revelation, we see how the act or action of worship brings glory to God, keeps our eyes fixed on God, and brings a deeper connection for us to know God.
Scripture also teaches us, and demonstrates to us, that our worship through song is a powerful tool for us against the enemy. Think about it, countless times, we see the Israelites begin to praise God in the battle, and things shift for them. David, throughout the Psalms, talks about praise being a weapon and sings to God. What is Paul doing when he is in captivity that causes chains to break and prison doors to fling open? He is praising God. And don’t miss this—when Jesus Himself is in the wilderness, being tempted by the devil, and the devil says he will give Jesus all kingdoms if Jesus would fall down and worship him. What does Jesus say? He quotes Scripture about the significance of worship. “Be gone satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve’” (Matthew 4:10). And the devil? He left Jesus.
There is significant power in our worship. We worship not only through singing our praises to God but also through our actions, through our being, and through our obedience to God. Worship is a lifestyle.
If a catchy tune on the radio can change our mood, maybe even our day, how much more could singing uninhibited praise to our Creator, our Father, and Savior change not only our mood or day, but also our life.
Take a few moments of your day to soak in the words of a well-known worship song, Heart of Worship. Maybe you need to read these words over and over, or maybe you need to put this song on in your car, turn the volume up, sing out loud, and not care what anyone thinks of you as they drive past you.
