Christian singer-guitarist László Prazsák (House of Prayer, Budapest) has collected the 12 ways of praise found in the Bible into a bunch....
What is certain is that after reading the list, we may realize how little we give to God while "praising Him" in our communities.
... in fact, it is strange that we need to talk about and teach the ways of displaying praise, since these ways are quite natural in secular praise. In many non-religious settings and situations, people freely praise their own "gods".
At sporting events, secular concerts, and in worshipping false gods, people manifest almost the most natural ways of expressing their adoration.
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In the world, worship often does not need to be taught. It comes from the heart, but it is not directed at God at all...
In the world we also give money for the benefit of our false idols, but our churches are barely supported. In our church communities we sing out of habit and are not really creative...
In the world, worship often doesn't need to be taught. It comes from the heart, but it is not directed at God at all..
In contrast, the Bible presents us with at least twelve ways of worship as examples to follow that can change our current anxious and inhibited habits. Let's take a look at Prazsák's collection of verses with their meanings.
Do not worship false gods!
"And you shall 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). So the focus of worshiping God is on the Lord himself, not on false gods. To love God with all our heart is to give everything of ourselves - physically, spiritually and mentally. That is, we must be able to praise him with our whole reality.
The Song
"Sing to the Lord and praise his name, proclaim his salvation day by day" (Psalm 96:2). We can glorify God by singing, which elsewhere in the Bible says should be a joyful song! "Rejoice in the Lord, all you countries, serve him with joy, come before him with gladness" (Psalm 100:1-2). So it is important to sing joyfully.
Speaking and singing in tongues
"Pray with the spirit, but pray also with the understanding; sing with the spirit, but sing also with the understanding" (1 Corinthians 14:15). We sing to God not only with the understanding, but also with tongues. With the tongue my spirit pleads, but my understanding is unfruitful. I pray with the spirit, with the spirit, but I also pray with the intellect. I sing with the spirit, but I also sing with the intellect. Scripture makes a distinction between singing with the intellect and singing with the spirit. To sing with the tongues, we must take the time to sing with the tongue.
Instrumental praise/worship, instrumental playing
"Praise the Lord with music, let the zither and harp play! With the sound of trumpet and horn, rejoice before the Lord and the King" (Psalm 98:5). We can also praise the Lord by playing instruments. We can praise Him consciously, just by strumming the guitar. God gives us inspired melodies in the process. But the condition of the musician's heart is not the same. If we give our instrumental playing to the Lord, it becomes praise, but if it is more of a practice, it becomes practice. Both are good, but we must first be clear in ourselves how we do it.
Vocal singing
"Come before him with a song of praise, praise him with a loud voice, singing a psalm! We will also praise the Lord with loud singing" (Psalm 95:2). Typically, this is not considered a call to follow in our congregations. Rather, we are shy lest our brother or sister next to us hear our voice. Yet God expects the opposite.
Bow, kneel, prostrate
"Come, bow down and worship, bow the knee to the Lord who made us" (Psalm 95:6). It may seem strange at first glance to bow or spontaneously genuflect during a worship service, yet if Christians believe that God is truly present among them, they must welcome the King of Kings who comes among them. The Lord dwells among the praises of his people according to the Word. We must not hold back from being decent to one another. More important than that is the presence of the Lord among us.
We sing countless times in our praises that we kneel before the Lord, yet we hardly ever undertake to do so. If the Holy Spirit moves us, we must obey his call, which may come to us as a faint thought. If we only do what we are accustomed to do, we do not yield to the Holy Spirit's tangible work among us.
Jubilate {whoop}
"Refresh us with your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad every day" (Psalm 90:14). We also praise the Lord with rejoicing! With our hearts and with our bodies. The spirit of man continually praises the Lord. Our body and soul should do the same according to the Lord's desire.
"Underwear"
"And David danced before the Lord with all his might, with a linen cloak around him. Thus David and the house of Israel carried up the ark of the Lord with rejoicing and trumpeting. But when the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Saul's daughter Michal looked out of the window. When she saw King David leaping and rolling before the Lord, she despised him in her heart (2 Samuel 6:14-16).
David was dancing before the Lord with all his might - dressed roughly in period underpants. He wore nothing else. So Saul's daughter hated David in her heart. In other words, a person who glorifies God gives his all and does not care if anyone around him is offended because of it, because he does not make his devotion to God dependent on the opinions and acceptance of others. Many times the Lord has astonished us to leave the familiar.
Many times the Lord has astonished us to leave the familiar
Drums, dancing and applause
"Praise him with drum and dance" (Psalm 150:4). "Praise the Lord with clapping" (Psalm 47:2). Some churches consider the drum to be "the instrument of Satan", and therefore exclude it from communal worship. Yet God calls us, biblically, to use it.
Raised Hands
"Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the Lord" (Psalm 134:2).
Fear and trembling
"Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling" (Psalm 2,12). Such inward joy is possible at the touch of the Holy Spirit.
Raising the flag
"That we may rejoice in your salvation, and wave a banner in the name of our God, may the Lord grant all your requests" (Psalm 20:6).
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