What
is the Difference between Praise and Worship?
Dr. Roger Barrier Preach It, Teach It
Editor's Note: Pastor Roger Barrier's "Ask Roger" column regularly appears
at Preach It, Teach It. Every week at Crosswalk, Dr.
Barrier puts nearly 40 years of experience in the pastorate to work answering
questions of doctrine or practice for laypeople, or giving advice on church
leadership issues. Email him your questions atroger@preachitteachit.org.
Dear
Roger,
I
hear people talking about praise and worship. Are they the same? If not, how
are they related? What is the difference between them?
Sincerely,
Liz
Dear
Liz,
The ministry of praise and the
experience of worship are not the same.
Praise is unidirectional. We praise God. He does
not praise us. Praise is our acknowledgement of His power, authority, wisdom
and worthiness. Praise does not require a response from the one who is being
praised.
On the other hand, worship is relational. It is not only our
communion with God. It is also is His communion with us.
“Ascribe to the Lord, all you families
of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the
glory due his name; (these three phrases describe praise). bring an offering and come before him. Worship the
Lord in the splendor of his holiness (these two phrases describe
worship)”(1 Chronicles 16:28-29).
Praise is something that we can do by
ourselves--or with others. Worship is something that we do alone--in our
innermost being.
Praise has to do with our telling God
and others how wonderful He is.
Praise has to do with shouting forth of
his marvelous character, compassion, and marvelous creation, just to name a few
of his powerful attributes.
Some definitions
may help to further our understanding of worship.
The Hebrew word
for worship is "Shaha." It means to "bow low" or to
"prostrate" oneself. Worship involves our bowing low before the Lord,
not only physically, but in our hearts.
The Greek word for worship is "Proskyneo." This word means "to kiss the hand
of one who is revered."
Praise usually precedes worship. “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His
courts with praise" (Psalm 100:4).
Understanding the nature of worship
means understanding Paul’s allegory that compares us to the Temple in
Jerusalem.
“Do you not know that your body is the
temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You
are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your
bodies” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Praise manifests itself in our body and
soul.
Worship manifests itself in our human
spirit where God dwells.
Paul wrote, “I will pray with my spirit, but I will also
pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my
mind” (1 Corinthians 14:15).
Worship flows both ways. God wants to
be with me. I want to be with God.
Here are some ways that may help us
transition into true worship.
1. Begin with a
time of praise.
2. Transition into quieting your
soul.
“We demolish arguments and every
pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take
captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Taking thoughts captive is the key to
quieting down our souls. Unfortunately, we evangelical Christians don’t know
much about meditation.
If you are just a beginner, try
quieting your mind for 15 minutes. If you get distracted then capture that
runaway thought and return to quietness.
This principle is described by David In Psalm 131:1-2:
“Oh Lord, my heart is not lifted up. I
do not occupy myself with things too high and mighty for me. But I have calmed
and quieted my soul, like a child quieted it and its mother’s breast. Like a
child that is quieted is my soul.”
Notice that we can choose to quiet our
souls if we want. A quiet soul is well within our reach.
3. Transition from soul to spirit.
Don’t be in a hurry for something to
happen. Take time to listen for God to speak.
Listening for God to speak is one of
the most dynamic dimensions of worship.
“Guard your steps when you go to the
house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools,
who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be
hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are
on earth, so let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2).
It’s a very precious moment when our
souls quiet down and God begins speaking.
The more time we spend worshiping with
Him in our spirits the more intimate our relationship, and friendship with Him
will be.
Worshiping in the spirit is relational.
In John 4, Jesus told the
woman at the well that true worshipers are those who worship in spirit and
truth.
Jesus makes it clear that God is
seeking out true worshipers. Think what it means to be the kind of person with
whom God wants to spend time. What does it do to your heart when you realize that
God wants to spend time with you in worship?
Here are some worship tools that I use
to help
Tool #1: One dimension of worship is
sensing Christ’s pain and then comforting Him.
For example, we discover in Genesis 6 that God was grieved that He had made
mankind. People who are hurting need comfort. Have you ever considered that
intimacy comes from comforting God for the hurts he’s experienced? Tell Him
you’re sorry that he got hurt. Imagine the pain he’s experienced.
Tool #2: Try seeing Jesus from a
relational perspective.
We call Psalm 23 the “Shepherd’s Psalm” but it’s really
not. It is the “Sheep’s Psalm.” David gets down on his knees and imagines his
shepherd from the sheep’s point of view.
Now, quietly on your knees, picture
yourself as a sheep and sense what it’s like to be secure in the hands of the
Shepherd.
Tool #3: Look for biblical examples
that help us see into the heart of God.
Ten lepers came to Jesus for healing.
As they followed his instructions and were running to the Temple priests, they
were healed as they ran.
One of them turned back in gratitude,
and kneeled at Jesus’ feet to worship. Listen to the sadness in Jesus’ voice
when he asked, “Didn’t I heal ten? Where are the other
nine?” Can you meditate on the pain in his voice?
Tool #4: Put yourself in Bible stories.
Reflect on the Red Sea in Exodus. What
would it be like to be the last one out of the sea? The Egyptians are getting
closer and closer. I am running faster and faster. I see Moses’ hands raised in
the distance. The Rod of God is about to descend and re-flood the Sea. It is
going to be close. Will the Egyptians catch me before Moses lowers his staff?
At the moment I’m clear, Moses lowers
his hands and the sea rushes in to destroy the Egyptian army. What a relief?
Saved by the hand of God. Imagine my feelings and emotions!
A sense of holiness and awe overwhelm those who worship
in the spirit.
Well Liz, I hope that I answered your question and that
you’ll spend many wonderful moments praising God and communing with him -- Holy
Spirit to human spirit.
Sincerely, Roger
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http://puricarefiles.blogspot.com/2016/08/glory-glory-glory-let-there-be-glory.html
"Holy Are You Lord"
"Holy Are You Lord"
lyrics
Can you hear the sound of heaven
Like the sound of many waters
It's the sound of worship coming from the throne
There are cries of adoration
As men from every nation
Lift their voice to make His glory known, singing
Chorus:
Holy, holy, holy are You, Lord
Holy, holy, holy are You, Lord
The elders and angels bow
The redeemed worship You now
Holy, holy, holy are You, Lord
Repeat Verse
Repeat Chorus 3 times
Like the sound of many waters
It's the sound of worship coming from the throne
There are cries of adoration
As men from every nation
Lift their voice to make His glory known, singing
Chorus:
Holy, holy, holy are You, Lord
Holy, holy, holy are You, Lord
The elders and angels bow
The redeemed worship You now
Holy, holy, holy are You, Lord
Repeat Verse
Repeat Chorus 3 times
Dr. Roger Barrier retired as senior teaching
pastor from Casas Church in Tucson, Arizona. In addition to being an author and
sought-after conference speaker, Roger has mentored or taught thousands ofpastors, missionaries, and Christian leaders
worldwide. Casas Church, where Roger served throughout his
thirty-five-year career, is a megachurch known for a well-integrated,
multi-generational ministry. The value of including new generations is deeply
ingrained throughout Casas to help the church move strongly right through the twenty-first
century and beyond. Dr. Barrier holds degrees from Baylor University,
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Golden Gate Seminary in Greek,
religion, theology, and pastoral care. His popular book, Listening to the Voice of God, published
by Bethany House, is in its second printing and is available in Thai and
Portuguese. His
latest work is, Got
Guts? Get Godly! Pray the Prayer God Guarantees to Answer, from
Xulon Press. Roger can be found blogging at Preach
It, Teach It,
the pastoral teaching site founded with his wife, Dr.
Julie Barrier.
http://www.crosswalk.com/church/pastors-or-leadership/ask-roger/what-is-the-difference-between-praise-and-worship.html
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