What is Worship? The question could be answered many different ways. Here's the short answer, "appropriately responding to God's presence." A better question to ask is "how is worship?" How is it that worship happens?
Let's break it down. First, we are created for the purpose of worship. It is a natural occurrence. A reflex action. We cannot not worship! Look around. Everywhere you look you see worship. Worship of pop culture icons, money, status, success, relationships... The list goes on and on. The fact is anything and everything is capable of receiving worship. It's safe to say that worship is not the cause it is the effect.
Worship instinctively unfolds in four stages.
1. Awareness
2. Understanding
3. Surrender
4. Admiration
For example no one is ever taught how to worship money or relationships. But as our understanding of a particular thing grows and if we submit ourselves to that knowledge (an understanding that It has a value or worth grater than ourselves) an admiration develops and worship becomes the inevitable result.
Now, I'm not saying that if you learn about something you'll worship it. I could go to college and study finance for years that doesn't mean it's automatically my Lord. I have to surrender myself to that thing first before worship emerges. Likewise, I can learn all about God, His covenant with me, the vast expanse of His love and never surrender myself to that knowledge (Him) and worship also will never emerge.
Because of this in teaching about worship I never teach how to worship. Just like you don't teach someone to respond to allergies by sneezing. Sneezing will inevitably happen when the right elements or conditions are introduced. One of the primary problems within the present Church culture is the worship of worship. This has happened over time as the instruction of worship has outweighed the introduction of the Worshiped. Worship has been pursued as being the "cause" in place of its naturally being the "effect" (like falling in-love with the gift and forgetting about its recipient).
I'm not saying that there shouldn't be any explanation of conduct, history, process, boundaries and so on of worship. Those are indeed important but they are the "cart". What I am saying is that we shouldn't put that cart before the horse.
To truly benefit worshipers we need to take them deeper into understanding His character, His numerous attributes, their role with Him on the earth and in Heaven and the life that's evident in submitting to that. In doing so we create a natural hunger. Their initial awareness has turned into understanding and now through submission these worshipers are able to worship in spirit and truth - not merely habit or programed formula.
There they have genuinely adapted the "how" of worship that leads to the "what" of worship - which is "appropriately responding to God's presence."
