The Right Way to Worship

"Come, let us worship Him and bow down. Let’s kneel before the Lord who made us, because He is our God and we are His people, the sheep of His pasture." Ps. 95:6-7

I’m Protestant, my wife is Roman Catholic. The mechanics of worship can sure be confusing: Protestants kneel for prayer, Roman Catholics stand for prayer, etc. I’ve often been asked to pray in worship services. When I am given advance notice---sometimes I write out the prayer, sometimes my prayer is impromptu. I’ve been asked to write prayers for others to pray in public. Is it wrong to "read" a prayer? Shouldn’t our prayers be "from the heart"/"Spirit led"? Obviously, that begs the question of whether a prepared payer is "from the heart"/"Spirit led" or not. I’ve attended a full spectrum of worship services in my day: very formal, moderately formal, informal; full of singing, little singing; totally prepared, totally impromptu. For those sincerely seeking spiritual feeding in a worship event we must answer the question: which is the best?

The answer is in the Psalms, the book of praise for God’s people. This collection of hymns and petitions are strung together by a common thread: a heart hungry for God. Some are defiant. Some are reverent. Some are inquiring. Some are statements. Some are to be sung. Some are to be said. Some are very personal. Some are for universal use. This very variety is the answer to our question: the "right" worship has no formula. The "right" worship is from the heart. Personally, we may relate a little more to one style of worship than to others, but, you know what…if we approach the worship experience with a heart sincerely hungry for God, we will find Him. The "right" worship is within us.

Blessings Always
in All Ways,
Steve