{"id":48505,"date":"2021-09-03T19:12:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T23:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=48505"},"modified":"2021-09-14T10:17:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-14T14:17:02","slug":"elements-of-worship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/elements-of-worship\/","title":{"rendered":"Worship as a Lifestyle: The 4 Elements of Worship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What are the elements of worship that should be present whenever and however you worship God? How can you practice worship as a lifestyle?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Worship is bringing pleasure to God and connecting with him relationally. Since we are to worship God at all times, worship can&#8217;t just be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/advantages-of-laughing\/\">singing<\/a> or showing up at a church service. Those are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/acts-of-worship\/\">acts of worship<\/a>. It&#8217;s important to understand the elements of worship that should be present in all acts of worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more to learn about the four elements of worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Four Elements of Worship<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The second week of your journey brings you to your first purpose\u2014<em>worship<\/em>, or bringing pleasure to God.<strong> <\/strong>Like most people, you probably think that worship is going to church, praying, singing, and so on. While these are <em>acts<\/em> of worship, that\u2019s not all that worship is. <strong>Worship is a <em>lifestyle<\/em> that centers on making God happy. <\/strong>It shouldn\u2019t happen only when you\u2019re in church or praying\u2014the Bible instructs us to worship God <em>continually<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before discussing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-practice\/\">how to practice<\/a> worship as a lifestyle, it\u2019s important to understand what separates <em>true<\/em> worship from <em>false <\/em>worship. When it&#8217;s true, there are certain elements of worship that should be present whenever and however you worship God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Worship doesn\u2019t depend on who you\u2019re with, what time it is, or where you are\u2014it depends on your engagement with the words you\u2019re saying and your intention to bring pleasure to God.<\/strong> If you\u2019re just going through worship rituals because you feel you \u201cshould\u201d or because it\u2019s \u201ctradition,\u201d your worship won\u2019t please God. There are four elements of worship.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1) Accuracy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Be sure you\u2019re not worshipping an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-your-image-of-god\/\">image of God<\/a> that you came up with in your mind. In that case, you\u2019re worshipping your own imagination or opinion. Instead, worship whom you <em>know God to be <\/em>by the truths outlined in Scripture.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>For example, \u201cI think of God as someone who\u2019d be understanding about <em>some<\/em> sins,\u201d is false worship. On the other hand, \u201cI worship God, who is just,\u201d is true worship.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2) Authenticity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The second element of worship is authenticity. You must mean what you say and do\u2014worship that\u2019s not genuine isn\u2019t worship, just words. The best way to worship with genuine emotion is to find a method of worship that shows your love for God <em>in a way that feels good to you<\/em> and <em>reflects the personality he gave you.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>For example, the Bible names confession, song, dance, kneeling, playing instruments, raised hands, and shouting among many ways to express praise.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s okay if your method of worship isn\u2019t traditional or even mentioned in the Bible\u2014God doesn\u2019t care about tradition. Often, traditional worship doesn\u2019t make people feel good, but it\u2019s what they think they <em>should<\/em> be doing. This results in emotionless, insincere worship. God wants to see passion and authenticity behind your worship, and it doesn\u2019t matter how you make that happen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/v2\/app\/book\/the-power-of-positive-thinking\/chapter-4\">Read our summary of <em>The Power of Positive Thinking<\/em><\/a> to explore different forms of prayer and find the type that best suits you.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3) Thoughtfulness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Be sure you are engaging your mind in a meaningful way while you worship. Automatic repetition of verses and phrases will eventually void the words of their meaning, but you can avoid this by looking for new and interesting ways to praise God. There are a few ways you might accomplish this:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Try reading different translations of the Bible, or make a list of synonyms for words that you feel you might be overusing.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Be <em>specific<\/em> with your praises\u2014tell God very specifically what you\u2019re thanking him for, instead of generalizing. For example, instead of saying \u201cI praise you for your gifts,\u201d you might say, \u201cI thank you for the beautiful sunshine that woke me up this morning, for my husband\u2019s love in making my coffee, and for the insights my call with Jim gave me.\u201d&nbsp;<\/li><li>Consider how an unbeliever would perceive your worship. Would they understand the meaning of your prayers and words like <em>hallelujah <\/em>or <em>amen<\/em>? Try rephrasing your prayers in such a way that <em>anyone<\/em> could understand them. This has the added benefit of training you to help unbelievers feel welcome.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4) Presence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The fourth element of worship is presence. You can be in only one place at once.&nbsp;This means deciding not to show up for worship opportunities, but saying, \u201cI\u2019m there in spirit!\u201d doesn\u2019t count.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>God wants you to worship him using your <em>body<\/em>\u2014that is, showing up physically for worship instead of using an easy cop-out to cater to your own interests or schedule. Your presence is a sacrifice of sorts because it forces you to give up two things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Self-centeredness: Instead of focusing on yourself and your wants, you focus on God and <em>his<\/em> wants.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Energy: You commit to the effort of worshipping with your <em>whole<\/em> self, even if you don\u2019t feel fully motivated to do so, or if it doesn\u2019t fit conveniently into your schedule.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are the elements of worship that should be present whenever and however you worship God? How can you practice worship as a lifestyle? Worship is bringing pleasure to God and connecting with him relationally. Since we are to worship God at all times, worship can&#8217;t just be singing or showing up at a church service. Those are acts of worship. It&#8217;s important to understand the elements of worship that should be present in all acts of worship. Read more to learn about the four elements of worship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":48514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,12,6],"tags":[488],"class_list":["post-48505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-relationships","category-spiritual","tag-the-purpose-driven-life","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Worship as a Lifestyle: The 4 Elements of Worship - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How can you practice worship as a lifestyle? 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