Connecting with God Through Worship

Overview

In my book, A Leader Worth Imitating (Principle 2: Presence),  I explain that there are five ways for people to connect with God and encounter Jesus: scripture, prayer, worship, community, and service.

In this article, I will explain how people can connect with God through worship. 

Worship in the Book of Psalms

While worship is about glorifying God, it is also a way that He communicates to us. In his book, Reflection on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis wrote, “It is in the process of being worshiped that God communicates His presence to men.” While prayer is our way to talk to God, worship is His way to talk to us. 

Because of this, when we pray we need to make just as much time to listen as we do to talk. It is likely that you have been in a conversation where the other person spent most of the time talking. If you haven’t, then sorry, to be the one to break it to you, you are probably the one dominating the conversation. A conversation needs at least two people to have an opportunity to talk, otherwise, it’s just a monologue.

While God wants to hear the prayers and monologues of your heart, He also wants to speak to you. Connecting with God through worship means that we need to avoid dominating our conversations with God. It is important that we make time to talk with Him, but it is also equally important to make time to listen to Him.  

One of the ways that you can practice listening to Him is by reading the Psalms. In doing so, you can connect with Him through both scripture and worship. 

In his commentary on the book of Psalms (NIV Application Commentary: Psalms Volume 1, 2002), Gerald Wilson explains that the 150 Psalms can be broken down into three categories. These three categories are thanksgiving, praise, and lament.

Thanksgiving

The Psalms of thanksgiving are worship for what God has done. Psalm 136 is a great example of this.

It begins with the simple command, “Give thanks to the Lord…” (v. 1a, NIV). From here, the lyricist writes a list of reasons why God is worthy of worship through thanksgiving. These reasons include creating the earth (v. 6), freeing His people from slavery in Egypt (v. 11), and giving Israel the land he had promised (v. 21). With 26 verses explaining what God had done, it almost reads like the bullet points on a resume. 

While many of these things were specific to the people of Israel, as followers of Christ today Psalm 136 is an example of the love that God has for His children. Each verse ends with the line, “His love endures forever” (NIV). Because of this, the blessings of his love that were available to the people of Israel are also available to us now and forever. Just as Psalmist worshiped God for everything God had done for the people of Israel, we should also worship God for everything he has done for us. 

Praise

In addition to worshiping God for what He has done, another reason to worship God is simply for who He is. The Psalms of praise are worship for who God is. Throughout the Psalms, God is worshiped for being holy. One example of this is Psalm 96.  Verse 9a reads, “Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness” (NIV).

Just as the Psalms have examples of praise for God’s holiness, it also includes examples of praise for His love (Psalm 63), power (Psalm 97), knowledge (Psalm 139), and presence (Psalm 23).

While you might think that there are similarities between worshiping God for who He is and worshiping Him for what he has done, I think that it is important to distinguish the two. When talking about worshiping God for what he has done, I used Psalm 136 as an example. This passage was essentially a list of things that God had done. 

However, if you were to make a list of things God has done for you, it might not be as long as this passage. In fact, you might not even have a list to begin with. Because of this, you might conclude that God is not loving and therefore not worthy of your worship. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

The truth is, God is loving, period. His holiness, power, knowledge, and presence is not subject to what He has or has not done. Even if God never did anything for you ever again, He would still be worthy of your worship. That is why it is so important that we draw a distinction between thanksgiving and praise; worshiping God for what He has done and worshiping God for who He is. 

Lament

While God is everything that I have previously mentioned and more, there may be moments in your life when you don’t feel His love and presence. There may also be moments when you question his holiness, power, and knowledge. In moments like this, we might not feel like worshiping. However, God is still worthy of our worship in moments when we don’t know where God is or what He is doing.  The Psalms of Lament are worship for when we don’t know where God is or what He is doing. Psalm 22 begins, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (v. 1a, NIV). Jesus echoes these words on the cross (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34). 

Connecting with God through worship means that we are free to grieve in moments when we do not know where God is or what he is doing. However, the purpose of the Psalms of Lament is not to stay in that state of grief. Rather, these Psalms are a reminder to trust in God. 

Because of this, they really could be called “The Psalms of Trust.” As I just mentioned, Psalms 22 is a Psalm of Lament. In verse 4, we see how it is also a Psalm of Trust. It reads, “In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them” (v. 4, NIV). 

Even though the Psalmist begins by asking where God is and what God is doing, he is reminded of everything that God has done for his ancestors. This is a reminder that just like people of Israel put their trust in God, we too can put our trust in him. 

Worship through lament can lead us to having a greater trust in God and who he is. Times of grief can lead us to trusting in God and his characteristics. It is in lament that we most need his love, holiness, power, knowledge, and presence.

Final Thoughts

By engaging in worship, we can help others connect with God in a way that is both personal and impactful. You can make time to speak and hear from God in moments of thanksgiving, praise, and lament. May your leadership guide others to experience God’s presence and love through worship.