If you’ve been around the church for any length of time, you’ve heard this word: Worship. It’s an entire department at many churches, it’s a music genre, and it even wins Grammys these days! But what does the Bible mean when it invites us to worship the Lord?

The Bible’s first mention of the idea of worship is in Genesis, but the story doesn’t reference any singing or dancing. Abraham is recorded in Genesis 22 as saying that he and his son Isaac are going to worship the Lord, knowing that God has asked him to sacrifice his son. This is a helpful passage to consider when we look to define worship: at its core, worship is about obedience. 

When we seek the presence of His Spirit and obey His commandments, we worship. When we act as the hands and feet of Jesus in our communities and homes, we worship. When we testify to our friends of the goodness of God in our lives, we worship! 

When we talk about the purpose of the Christian life, I believe that holistic worship is an integral part. Romans 12:1 teaches that offering up our whole selves as living sacrifices is a “true” form of worship. The Lord in His kindness invites us to worship Him, and while it’s an act of obedience on our part when we surrender our attention and affection to Him, He always meets us in our worship of Him and transforms our hearts in return.

I am someone who has vocationally focused on singing the Lord’s praises, which is a form of but not the totality of worship. I think this is a very important distinction. Music is a powerful tool to help us on the endeavor of embodied obedience. As believers, when we sing praises, we are committing to memory truths about who God is and who we are in Him, and collectively declaring those prayers. It’s a powerful thing. And it can be the first step to living our daily lives in worshipful obedience to Him.

What’s one way you’d like to step into deeper worship of the Lord this next week?