"I desire then that in every
place the men should pray, lifting holy
hands." (1 Timothy 2:8)
Thought:
A while back I answered a letter
from a young lady named Christy. She had
questions about the varying degrees of
expressiveness in the gathered worship
of different churches. Recently, I've
had a number of conversations about the
same issue.
What should our
worship of God look like? Are there
clear biblical directives? Is it, as one
church website says, a matter of
"personal taste, personality and habit?"
I want to make two points from
the outset. First, determining how we
should respond physically to God is a
matter for God to decide, not us. God
doesn't give us the option of
determining how He should be worshiped.
Second, in issues regarding our
faith, bodily expression in corporate
worship is an important but secondary
issue. I should have no problem
fellowshipping or worshiping God with a
church that may be more enthusiastic or
more reserved than I'm used to, as long
as they are proclaiming the same gospel
and glorying in the same Savior.
Having said that, bodily expressions
are associated with worship throughout
Scripture. Sometimes expressiveness is a
spontaneous reaction to what God has
revealed and done. Miriam grabbed her
tambourine and danced exuberantly with
other women on the bank of the Red Sea
(Ex 15:20). The Israelites bowed their
heads in worship when they heard how God
was going to strike the firstborn sons
of Egypt but spare their own children
(Ex 12:27). Upon learning that the Lord
promised to be with them in battle, the
Levites "stood up to praise the
Lord...with a very loud voice" (2Ch
20:19). Job's response to losing his
family and possessions was to fall to
the ground and worship (Job 1:20). David
danced joyfully before God as the ark of
the covenant was being returned to
Jerusalem (2Sa 6: 5,16). In Acts 3:8, we
read about the healed man who was
walking and leaping and praising God.
The apostle John fell on the ground like
a dead man before the angel of the Lord
(Rev 1:17).
All of these
examples indicate an immediate and
spontaneous reaction to events and
circumstances. However, Scripture also
commands us to proclaim God's greatness
by means of our bodies. Here's a small
sampling of ways God is pleased to
receive our worship.
Clap your
hands, all peoples! Shout to God with
loud songs of joy! (Psalm 47:1)
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
(Psalm 95:6)
Let them praise his
name with dancing, making melody to him
with tambourine and lyre! (Psalm 149:3)
Stand in awe of [God] (Psalm
22:23).
I desire then that in
every place the men should pray, lifting
holy hands. (1 Timothy 2:8)
The
24 elders fall down before him who is
seated on the throne and worship him who
lives forever and ever. (Revelation
4:10)
Clapping, shouting,
kneeling, dancing, playing instruments,
standing in awe, lifting hands, falling
down. Given the variety of responses, it
would be difficult to come up with a
single form of expression that pleases
God when we gather to honor Him
corporately. Clearly all these actions
are acceptable and appropriate in the
worship of God, and this list is not
meant to be exhaustive.
However,
physical responses in themselves are no
sign, one way or the other, that God is
pleased with our worship.
Questions to consider:
***What are some ways that I
currently respond and express my worship
to God?
***Would God consider
them to be pleasing and appropriate?
***What are some ways I could better
respond and express my worship to God?
We don't have to be
embarrassed because we jump, shout, lift
our hands, kneel, or bow our heads in
worship. It is God who we are expressing
our love to, not those around us.
Links: (When avail. copy & paste into
your web browser)
