What it means to worship in spirit and truth

I just love this line from the song All of Creation by MercyMe because it gets to the essence of why we exist: "The reason we breathe is to sing for His glory". We were made to have a personal relationship with the living God. The Holman Bible Handbook says "Worship is attributing worth and honor to the living God". Friends, we were made to worship the creator of all things in Spirit and truth. Have you ever wondered what exactly that means?

In one of the most fascinating dialogues recorded in Scripture, Jesus spoke these words to the  Samaritan woman at the well:

Because God is Spirit and not flesh and bone like us, we don't have to go to any particular place to worship Him. We can worship God anytime and anywhere. Or better yet, we can worship God all the time and everywhere.

What it means to worship in spirit

By saying "we must worship God in spirit", Jesus is making the point that we must worship God with the proper heart attitude that comes from our spirit. Not simply by conforming to religious rituals at specific places of worship. I'm not saying that we shouldn't meet to worship together. We absolutely should do that. What I'm saying is that you can also worship God anytime and anywhere all by yourself. 

But understand that true worship flows from your spirit, not from repeating religious mantras or from just performing outward signs.

What it means to worship in truth

God seeks true believers to worship Him in truth. This means that God desires authentic worship. Worship that springs from an inward change of your heart. Real followers of Jesus worship in complete sincerity that flows from their heart. The Lord our God doesn't want worshipers who only go through the motions.

Do you have the right attitude about worship?

Too many Christians seem to have the wrong attitude when it comes to worship. Sometimes they don't participate in the worship service at their church because they know they don't sing well. Maybe they don't enjoy singing for other reasons. I'm convinced that God doesn't care how well you sing or the eloquence of your prayers.

Do you have the right attitude when it comes to worship? I hope you'll take what we learned from John 4:23-24 to heart.

Here's a great worship song to practice worshiping our God in spirit and truth.

Sing to the Lord a New Song. Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!
Psalm 149:1 (ESV)

See Also

5 Reasons People Don't Sing at Your Church