Worship: A Discipline of Life in Pursuit of God

Written By Heather Perrin

Psalm 19: 1-4
The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
 Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.

In a Christ-centered life, worship recognizes and acknowledges God as Creator, sovereign Lord, and the source of salvation through Jesus Christ. To worship God is to actively express adoration, reverence, and honor to Him. Genuine worship is rooted in an understanding of God’s character and should encompass all of life. Worship includes both private and communal practices like prayer, song, Bible reading, and serving one another. We offer our thanksgiving to God for His blessings and grace. We recognize that all good gifts come from God and that the ultimate gift is salvation through Jesus. Thanksgiving is an intentional practice of gratitude toward God not just for what He has done, but in praise for who He is and how He has revealed Himself to us. 

by Chris Wood

I have a vivid, 24-year-old memory of walking the north side of Baylor’s campus on a sunny, early spring day, under a canopy of towering oaks and Brazos pecans. The walkway would pass through shadow and light, contrasting the coolness of the air and the power of the sun’s heat. On this day, I found myself repeating the prayer over and over in my mind, “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior - have mercy on me, a sinner.” I do not believe I have ever felt so intensely connected and alone at the same time. It was prayer, truth, recognition of God, and confession of who I am. I was connected to the pecans and oaks. Together, we were in a voiceless choir of worshipers.

The walkway from the seminary to the music school ran through the heart of the northwest side of campus, across the mall in front of the library, and it was always filled with people bustling from one class to the next, or sitting under the trees occupied with study, or throwing frisbee on the lawn. Our Spiritual Formation class was given the assignment to attempt to pray one prayer for a week. We were to pray it during any free time or moments when our minds were not occupied and in our times of personal study. Even at meals, we were to pray this one prayer instead of what we would normally pray. “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior - have mercy on me, a sinner.” 

I practiced my assignment on that walk, and I remember the trees, hills, grass, feel of the cool air washing over me, contrasted by the warmth of the bright Texas sun and the feeling of connectedness to God. I felt alone with God amid a bustling college campus. I felt like the trees must feel (if trees had feelings) present with the busyness of man, but not here for it. For that day, the trees and I were participants in the same activity: in our own ways, we were declaring the greatness of God. We were practicing worship.

There is a very important difference between us and the trees. The trees, by their nature, are in a constant state of worship. They exist because God declares them to exist, and by fulfilling their purpose as a tree, they give testimony to the great God who created them. Likewise, we are created by the same God, intentionally and to fulfill His purposes. But when we look around at the work of humans, it does not appear that we are doing a good job of reflecting a good God. Like the trees, we are certainly created with purpose. Unlike the trees, our fallen nature struggles to give testimony to our Creator. 

The difference lies in choice. The choice is profound, formative, and requires intentional discipline to make.

When the world around the trees is painful, violent, loving, or at peace, the trees carry on in their purpose and thereby constantly proclaim God’s goodness and greatness. They have no choice in the matter. Sometimes I am jealous of the trees. I see the world around, and the world within, and get distracted. I can find myself getting lost in the chaos and the fallenness. I lose my focus from the God who orders and ordains. When I do, my life ceases to constantly worship God.

Flash forward several years, and I am on staff at a church North of Atlanta. At the time, I was single, in a new environment, living in an apartment right beside the Mall of Georgia, and a 30-minute drive to downtown Atlanta. All around me was busyness, people, entertainment–opportunities for involvement, yet I felt alone. I felt isolated from both man and God. I doubted the existence of God. I doubted that I was purposely made. I remember lying in bed one night praying over and over, “God if You are real, You are going to have to make it clear to me.” Such a contrasting prayer to the one I prayed on that beautiful Texas spring day at Baylor. 

On Sundays, I would head to church to lead the congregation in worship and teach the Bible to high school or college students. I would do this even in my season of disbelief. It was the discipline and the pattern of worship where I found respite for my doubtful soul. The respite would eventually give way to long-standing belief again. Even in my doubt, I was wired to worship, and my inner being knew it needed to see and be seen by my Maker. I learned in that season that the discipline of worship is not that I always believe the words I am singing, praying, or meditating upon, but that I need to declare what is true out of trust that the truth of God will transform me. It is in the discipline of worship that my disbelief gives way to belief, and I am transformed into the likeness of my Creator.

Unlike the trees, worship for us is a choice. Much like the trees, worship is the purpose for which we were created. We were designed to be in harmony with God. We were created to worship Him in the context of community. On Easter Sunday, we visited family in Atlanta. The first two songs we sang were relatively new and were two of my favorites. I sang boldly and happily words of worship to God. It was wonderful. Suddenly, the music gave way to the refrain of “Because He Lives.” Personally, I would not put this in my top 50 favorite songs to sing to God, but in that moment, I was overwhelmed and tears trickled down my face. 

I thought about my reaction and (perhaps because I was writing this blog and was focused on the topic), I concluded that it was not nostalgia, but perhaps it was because this song has been in my vocabulary of worship for 48+ years. It represented a lifetime of hearing the words of truth sung over me by the community of faith, and eventually became my own words of worship. Perhaps, the response to this song was a product of a lifetime practicing the discipline of worship, and it has been part of my song through all the various seasons of my life. I did not wipe away the tears. I intentionally left them there to dry as a reminder of God’s faithfulness. Once again, I found myself in a choir with the trees, fulfilling the purpose for which we were created. “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior - thank you for having and continuing to have mercy on me, a sinner.” 

Soli Deo Gloria.

Practical Suggestions for the Discipline of Worship

  • Engage with the church gathered on Sunday mornings, singing, reading Scripture, listening to liturgy, and the sermon.

  • Spend more of your prayer or journaling time giving thanks to God for the many ways he cares and provides for you.

  • Spend a portion of your Missional Community gathering, perhaps mealtime, sharing the week’s highs and lows. Celebrating the week’s highs is a great opportunity to praise God.

  • Practice telling the people around you regularly how thankful that you are for them and what you are thankful for. This can also be practiced occasionally as a missional community by going around the room and sharing specific thanks for one another.

Resources

Heather Perrin
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