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Why Praise? Why Worship?It's the Attitude of Your Heart
by Alan Seeger (Alan's bio)
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So what is this praise and worship thing all about, anyway?
Well, it's a question of the attitude I have toward God, toward the task He has called me to, and toward my fellow man. God has called me to a life that involves not only being a worshipper, which is something that all believers are called to do, but being what I call a facilitator of worship; in other words, someone who assists others in setting an atmosphere that is conducive to worship. You sometimes hear references to "leading the congregation into the throne room of God." This isn't something you do physically, of course, or even mentally — this is no New Age-style "visualization." This is creating a comfortable atmosphere for the congregation to allow their spirits to be open to receiving the things that God has for them. Not only is the time of praise and worship a time of communion with God, it's a time for us to express our love for Him in a number of ways.
Many times people think of "praise" as "the fast songs," and "worship" as "the slow songs." Of course, it's not nearly so simple. However, there is some truth to this. Praise is a means of glorifying God, of expressing His greatness, of proclaiming that He is the Mighty One, the all powerful, majestic, awesome God of creation.
When the time of worship comes, we tend to bring in songs that are sweeter, more melodic, at times almost like a child's lullaby. And this is actually highly appropriate, because this is the time of intimacy. This is the time when He invites us to crawl up in His lap and rest our weary heads on His shoulder, and feel His powerful arms wrap around us and comfort us, and to hear Him whisper, "Peace."
When we were children, and we got hurt, or something made us sad, we had no qualms about going in to Daddy and climbing in his lap and snuggling into his shoulder. Did you ever doubt that your parents would provide for you? In this day and age, we see more and more situations of neglect and abuse, but as children growing up in America, the vast majority of us never went without any of our basic needs. We naturally took for granted that Daddy would provide us with all the necessities — food, clothing, a roof over our heads — even a car when we turned 16. And that was just from putting our trust in our human father.
Why, then, don't we trust our Heavenly Father that way? He tells us to, very clearly: "...ask, and you shall receive... seek first God's Kingdom and His righteousness and all these (necessities of life) will be provided for you." (Luke 11:9; Matthew 6:33)
That's what praise and worship really is: taking the time out to say to God, "Daddy! I LOVE YOU! You are so wonderful! There's no one else that I love more than You!" and curling up in His lap, in the glory of His presence.
Tell your Father how much you love him, today.
Copyright 2002, Alan Seeger. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
| About Alan Seeger: Alan Seeger is a worship leader and songwriter. At 16 he heard God's call to ministry through music and the Word -- and ran like a scared rabbit. At 21, Alan returned to God's service and now works full-time in the television and music ministries at Victory Family Worship Center in Springdale, Arkansas. Alan has composed a number of songs that are being used in churches across America, including "Pray (Until The Glory Of The Lord Comes Down)." Alan can be reached through Psalmist Creations Ministries at www.psalmist.net |
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