Prayer Study Week Three Day Five

“The Worth-ship of God”

Worship is paying honor, reverence and homage to God. The Old English word for worship literally means “worthship.” It denotes the worthiness of the individual. The “worthship” of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is our lesson today.

Read 1 Chronicles 16:23-25.  Describe the acts of worship in these verses.


Why is God worthy of our praise and fear?


Worship is singing, proclaiming and declaring the worthiness of God. Whatever form or style of worship, it is a reciting of all the wonder, glory, deeds, miracles, mercy, grace and love… (The list is infinite) in every circumstance and in every manner. He is worthy! Our lives should be devoted to the worship of God.

Proclaim His Salvation
Proclaiming the salvation of the Lord is an act of worship. The Hebrew word for “proclaim” is “basar” which means “to announce, bring good news, and tell glad tidings.” It also means “to receive good news.” 

Worship is a proclamation of giving and receiving in our prayer time and in the continual prayers in our walk with the Lord. The word “proclaim” was often used to proclaim news pertaining to military encounters and announcements from the King to his people.

Whether we realize it or not, there is a battle raging for souls. The evil one wants nothing but destruction for mankind. But, salvation has been provided! God proclaims His salvation, the good news of victory in battle over the evil one. We in turn proclaim the good news of His salvation through Jesus Christ His Son. We worship God in proclaiming the Good News of victory through salvation.

The announcement of God’s love for us is declared in and by His Son King Jesus. He wants us to know and receive the “Good News” that He loves us and is willing and ready to receive us as His dearly loved children.

Read Isaiah 52:7. (NIV) Fill in the blanks:
"How _______________________ on the mountains are the feet of those who bring______________ _____________, who ________________ peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim____________________, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

The Hebrew people of Isaiah’s day considered mountains holy places. They were thought of as the places of God’s revelation and abode. Living in Colorado at the base of the Rocky Mountains I can see why. Often when we hike and we get to the top of whatever mountain we have climbed, I seem to feel the awesomeness of the Creator even more. I know that God is no more awesome up high than down in the valley, but it is indeed a special place for me.

The scriptures use mountains as symbols of eternity, strength and stability. They also represent the obstacles of life. Christ brought down the Good News to us from the place of God’s revelation. It is news from His throne that has overcome the obstacles in life, especially the obstacle of death through sin. The good news has been brought to us by the beautiful nail-scarred feet of the King Himself! King Jesus!

Declare His Glory and Marvelous Deeds
Declaring His glory and marvelous deeds is an act of worship. The Hebrew word for “declare” is “sapar” which means “to write, enumerate, recount, tell, speak, and narrate; to make known, praise, and boast.”

On of my favorite hymns is “O Worship the King” If you don’t know the melody, the words still hit you with the declaration of God’s Glory. If you do know this song, take the time to sing it or remember the melody as you read these words:

“O Worship the King”

                              

O worship the King, all glorious above,

And gratefully sing His wonderful love;

Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,

Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.

O tell of His might, O sing of His grace,

Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space!

His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,

And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

The bountiful care, what tongue can recite?

It breathes in the air; it shines in the light,

It stream from the hills, it descends to the plain,

And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,

In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail:

Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,

Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend.

(Words by Robert Grant. Music arranged from Johann Hayden by William Gardner 1815)

Worthy of Praise
“Hallelujah!” This word come from the Hebrew word “halal” and means to “boast, praise, celebrate, glorify, and be famous, deserving of praise. It denotes rejoicing and praising God.” When a person says, “Hallelujah,” they are calling for others to join with them in celebration of the glory of God.  It’s hard to capture what this means, but here goes….

Worship is the calling forth to celebrate the infinite aspects of God’s glory. It’s like saying, “Join with me and let’s tell God how much we adore and love Him!” This is worship, even when we are alone in prayer, the angles join in. “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit! As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be! World (His Kingdom) without end! Amen!”

Read Psalm 96:7-9. What are we to ascribe to the Lord?


What are we to bring into His courts?


Where does our worship occur?


What does it mean to tremble before God?



As we have learned, when we ascribe something to someone, we credit them as the source. In our worship of God we give Him credit for His glory and strength. Our offering to Him is our hearts which is our very life’s source. True worship occurs in the splendor of His holiness before the Throne of God. We tremble before Him in respect of His position as God. Worshiping the Lord in fear and trembling is to lay ourselves down in allegiance to God.

In true worship, we let go of our defenses and truly recognize that we are His children, the children of the great King. We do this because we know that He is a great God and His will is perfect. In this position of worship, we admit our weakness and submit to the infinite strength of God.  It is during this time that God can and will greatly work in our lives. When we live in our strength we are at an eternal disadvantage. We are limited in our own strength. In God’s strength we are made strong.

Prayer Time
Take this time to pay honor to the Only One who is worthy of our worship. Take what you’ve learned from 1 Chronicles 16:23-25 and immerse yourself in worship of the Great King! Go to your Prayer Journal and write out your song of praise; your proclamation of His salvation; your declaration of His glory and marvelous deeds; His worthiness. 


Discussion Questions
1. Proclaiming the salvation of the Lord is an act of worship. How do you understand proclaiming salvation to be an act of worship?


2. Have you experienced the victory in Christ and how has it affected your life and those around you?


3. Worship is the calling forth to celebrate the infinite aspects of God’s glory. It’s like saying, “Join with me and let’s tell God how much we adore and love Him!” This is worship, even when we are alone in prayer, the angles join in. When you worship God how do you do it?


4. Worshiping the Lord in fear and trembling is to lay ourselves down in allegiance to God. How have you been willing or not willing to lay yourself down before the Holy One? Explain.