Ten biblical ways to worship God

Praise Him for His mighty deeds;

praise Him according to His excellent greatness.

Psalm 150:2

The old testament makes it abundantly clear that God desires to be worshiped. Therefore, worship should be our first priority. We are expected to worship Him when things are going badly in our lives, when we’re tempted, and when things are going well.

James 4:8 says that we are to draw near to God and He will draw near to us. How do we do that? With a heart of worship.

Let’s take a look at ten biblical ways to worship God. Who knows, you might even learn some Hebrew along the way.

Praise Him with lifted hands

The Hebrew word Yadah means to worship with extended hand or to literally throw out your hand. Think of this as a small child lifting her hands to a mom or dad saying pick me up and hold me. It communicates a desire to be near to God and a willingness to surrender to His will.

Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
Psalm 63:3-4

Also see Nehemiah 8:6 and Psalm 143:6.

Extend the right hand in agreement

The Hebrew word Towdah means to extend the hand in adoration, or acceptance. Christians often do this to show that they’re in agreement with something they’ve just heard from the pulpit.

James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.
Galatians 2:9

Kneel before Him

The Hebrew word Barak means to kneel down, to bless God as an act of adoration. This is what commoners would do before royalty as an outward sign of submission. But we should not kneel down, as in worship to anyone other than the living God.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
Psalm 95:6

The 29th chapter of 2nd Chronicles tells the story of King Hezekiah restoring worship at the Jewish temple.

When the offering was finished, the king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped.
2 Chronicles 29:29

Worship in song

The Hebrew word Tehillah means to praise through singing. It involves music and especially means to sing hymns of the Spirit.

Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.
Psalm 100:2

I love to sing. I often break into spontaneous singing that just bubbles out of my spirit. My friends, sometimes look at me funny like I’ve got some kind of mental disorder. I like to think of it as having a case of spiritual turrets.

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
Psalm 33:1 (NKJV)

Have you ever observed a regular church attendee who doesn’t sing during worship service? Usually, they offer up the excuse that they don’t sing well. Well, guess what? God doesn’t care if you have a good singing voice. He doesn’t care if you sing like an angel. He just wants you to worship Him in song!

Worship with music

The Hebrew word Zamar means to pluck the strings of an instrument, to sing, and to praise. It’s a musical word which is largely involved with joyful expressions of music with musical instruments. This is the most common form of worship we have in the church today.

Psalm 150 tells us to worship in this way.

Clamorously foolish worship

The Hebrew word Halal means to celebrate, and to be clamorously foolish. This is the most fun form of worship because it requires that you step outside of dignity. Not everyone appreciates this kind of worship. For example, David’s wife, Michal was not amused when David exhibited this form of worship as he brought the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem.

So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres. And as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart.
1 Chronicles 15:28-29

Praise Him in a loud voice

The Hebrew word Shabach means to shout or to address in a loud tone of voice. It means to express praise mightily. Pouring your whole heart, strength, and volume into your praise. Here are some examples of this:

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.
Luke 17:15

In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”
Revelation 5:12

Worship through prayer

If you only use your prayers to ask God for something you want or need, then you’re missing an opportunity for worship. We should always use our prayer time to thank God for His blessings. It’s also a good time to praise His name.

The apostle Paul gave these instructions to Timothy concerning worship:

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people.
1 Timothy 2:1

Worship sacrificially

The author of the book or Romans urges believers to present themselves as a living sacrifice. This means that we are to put Christ’s will for our lives above our own desires. To do this is a form of spiritual worship that pleases God.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Romans 12:1-2

Worship with reverence and sincerity

God wants us to come into His presence with an authentic heart
and an appropriate measure of humility.

~ Pastor Mike Howerton

There are many verses in the bible that refer to reverence towards God.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
Hebrews 12:28

In heaven, God is worshiped with such reverence that the twenty-four elders in God’s throne room fall on their faces to worship Him. (Revelation 11:16)

We should follow their example. I’ve found that my best prayer times have been when I’ve knelt down to pray. Our willingness to kneel before God in prayer is a powerful sign of reverence and sincerity.

As Jesus was talking with the Samaritan woman at the well, He told her that the Father is seeking people to worship Him in spirit and truth.

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
John 4:23-24

True worshipers are those whose worship is based on the Word of God (scripture) and who worship Him sincerely (from their heart).

I know that you'll be blessed as you’ll apply these principles of worship to your daily lives.

God bless,
Daniel

References

7 Hebrew Words for Praise
The MacArthur Study Bible