How do we worship? What are we “allowed” to do while still being reverent before the Lord, worshiping in spirit and truth? What is God's desire for our worship? Does He give us the right to pick and choose how we worship?
Over the course of this multi-part devotional, we will discover and learn the ways that we can actively worship God when we come together as the gathered Church. We are told in Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth that our mere existence, even eating or drinking, can be worship to God; so we understand that our worship is not confined to a time or a place—it is a lifestyle. This mini-series is intended to develop our worship as it pertains to the intentional physical and spiritual acts that we do during our worship. Granted, these things can (and should) be done whether we are at church or not. My hope is that churches and believers everywhere, will experience true freedom in worship together—a glimpse into what heaven may be like one day. God desires us to worship in this way. Let’s learn together.
“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NLT)
Part 10: Our Physical Posture - Standing
“I tremble in fear of you; I stand in awe of your regulations.” Psalm 119:120 (NLT)
“And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen!’ while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.” Nehemiah 8:5-6 (NKJV)
“This is what the Lord says: ‘Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’ …” Jeremiah 6:16 (NLT)
“Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk 3:2 (NIV)
Whenever we begin a worship set at church, we have everyone stand. Simply put, it makes sense to stand while we worship and sing, but why do we do it in the first place? Thankfully, the Bible has given us some examples. We stand in awe of who God is. This is almost more of a posture of heart, rather than a physical position. In Nehemiah, we read that the entire assembly of people stood to their feet, shouted, lifted their hands, and fell to the ground, bowing in worship to the Lord as soon as Ezra opened the Bible. If you read the preceding verses, you will find that Ezra was reading them the Book of Moses, the Law book. (They were reading about lineages and laws, not about the saving grace of their Savior-to-come, Jesus!) We stand as we seek and search for God’s path, waiting to move and step where He will lead us. We stand in awe of all that God has done for us, believing that there is more to come.