I have been stirred in my heart to take a deeper look at what worship really is upon hearing the new COVID restrictions enacted in our province recently on church gatherings which prohibit singing from anyone not on the worship team and requiring all attending members to be masked at all times. This has launched a pursuit of the heart of God with the question, “what is worship?”
For the next few weeks I’m going to be diving into this both in writing and through song as I want to invite you to do as well alongside me. As with everything we need to open our hearts and let Father change our perspective to line up with His.
One aspect of worship has come to the forefront for me which centers on an often overlooked scripture verse.
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord”
Eph.5:19
I have pondered this verse for a few years now. The text literally tells us that, by His Spirit, we are to speak to one another through the songs we sing. Are we open to that?
Do we recognize the portion of our gatherings we refer to as “the worship” as part of the teaching? Do we approach it with an eagerness to learn and be encouraged in the same way we approach the sermon?
In my years leading worship and travelling to different places I would say this is a deeply unrecognized aspect of the purpose of our gathering together to sing. I myself am just beginning to scratch the surface of the depth a revelation in this area could hold for our gatherings.
The first part of this verse in Ephesians gives us insight into how this happens,”be filled with the Spirit”. As we open our hearts we let God teach us who He is through His Spirit. This has been classified as “spontaneous singing” which is one way it can happen. I have been drawn into this type of singing deeper and deeper by Father in the last couple years. But it also can be revelation that is encapsulated in fully formed songs. The main point is to seek His heart and sing out what He is singing.
Have you ever heard the lead worshipper sing something that made you want to know God in the way they do? Better yet, have you ever heard someone beside you sing something that did that in your heart? This begins to happen when we align with Him and truly desire to know Him and who we are in Him.
Another verse adds to the revelation this verse is bringing to the forefront:
“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” Col. 3:16 (NIV)
This verse draws the connection between worship through music and teaching as well as counselling each other. The word “admonish” actually carries with it the meaning of “advising, counselling and even warning others through encouraging them”.
How powerful it would be for us to realize the important role we play in each others lives through the music in our gatherings!
These scriptures were not written to worship leaders only. They were written to everyone who was listening!
I’m excited to see what this could really look like when we gather for communal worship led by His Spirit. I believe a greater emphasis is needed on the true role and power the music portion of our worship gatherings is meant to hold.
Just imagine what we could learn from Him through each other? Though it is functioning now in varying capacity – there’s so much more!
Let’s explore as we ask the question together – what is worship?
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I have released a few soaking type worship songs on my Youtube channel “Grains of Sand”. Check them out by clicking on the link below:
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