Last blog, we talked about what worship is and that it is not singing songs and playing Christian music. Worship is relationship. It’s our stance as Christians, our very being. WE are worshipers if we are called sons and daughters of the King. We do not offer worship – we ARE worship! Just to backtrack a little, we started off with the verse:

 John 4:23-24– “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father inspirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

God was talking to the Samaritan woman here about the location of worship not being as important as HOW we worship. God can be worshipped anytime, anywhere, not just in Church before the sermon. True worship is Holy Spirit led, anointed and power-filled.

True worship should be something we continually do in our Spirits throughout our day. Yes, songs of praise and music can feed our worship, but they aren’t our worship… True worship breaks barriers!

How many of us can remember moments where we just didn’t feel like worshipping? When all hell has broke loose, when we are not seeing answers to our prayers, when we are in the midst of a storm and we just cant seem to get ourselves in a place to worship?

Worship is not about whether we feel like it or not. It takes a dying of ones self to worship, to get outside ourselves, feelings, and focus our hearts onto God! 

It’s not easy sometimes to worship. We often times have to talk ourselves into worshipping, but worship will reform the atmosphere in your life in a way nothing else has the power to do. We try to blame it on the enemy when our worship is inhibited, but even the enemy does not have the power to stop us from worshipping. He doesn’t need to – we stop ourselves and WE are the only ones who can choose whether or not we will worship in the heights of passion or the lows of despair and emptiness!

It will challenge our flesh in the moments we just don’t feel like it, but when we choose to worship despite our feelings or circumstances, it shifts our focus off the problem and onto God! It allows God to enter and that is when breakthrough happens!

Mathew 14:22-33(Jesus walks on water, calms the storm and brings Peter out on the water, disciples worship Him) 

Matthew 14:33– “When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.” 

As a group of disciples, they had never worshipped God before together. The disciples were there when Jesus healed the leper, forgave the adulterer, preached to thousands…They loved and followed Jesus, leaving their families and lives, but had never corporately worshipped Him until after this incident on the water. Why? Because this time it involved them! This time, it was THEM that were saved! Worship is personal!! Worship is intimate and allows our hearts to be ONE with our God. 

Breakthrough Worship stories

Why is worship so important? Why does worship matter so much? Worship is the only thing God cannot give Himself! To worship – you have to have something higher than yourself and there is noting higher than God! 

Luke 19:40– “Jesus responded, “Listen to me. If my followers were silenced, the very stones would break forth with praises!” 

*Everything that has breath will praise the Lord and even the rocks will cry out! All of creation was designed to worship God! 

Joshua 6:1-27– (Walls of Jericho) God gave Joshua specific instructions on what to have the people do for the walls to come down. He instructed them to march around the city once a day for 6 days and on the 7^thday, march around 7 times and the priests blowing on the trumpet, the long blast on the rams horn and the people shouting then at the top of their lungs and the walls would come down…Joshua and the people did as instructed and as they worshipped and followed God’s instructions, the walls came down!

Acts 16:25-26– “Paul and Silas, undaunted, prayed in the middle of the night and sang songs of praise to God, while all the other prisoners listened to their worship. Suddenly, a great earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. All at once every prison door flung open and the chains of all the prisoners came loose.” – Again, it was through worship after they had been severely beaten that the chains broke! Very symbolic of the chains we live in ourselves!

**The story of Jehoshaphat

Tribes against Jehoshaphat and his tribe were outnumbered. Again, God told him not to be afraid, that he would be with him…

2 Chronicles 20:18-19– “Then Jehoshaphat knelt down, bowing with his face to the ground. All Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping God. The Levites (both Kohathites and Korahites) stood to their feet to praise God, the God of Israel; they praised at the top of their lungs!”

2 Chronicles 20:22“ at the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and mount Stir to start fighting among themselves.”

In all these stories, they had every opportunity to fear, to worry or complain. They were in despair, moments of weakness. What brought the breakthrough for each of them? Worship! Worship is what invites and allows God to fight our battles. How amazing is that? As we worship and praise, God fights on our behalf. Too often we are fighting in our own strength, when all we need to do is praise!

This reminds me of a song I love:

You go before I know

That You’ve gone to win my war

You come back with the head of my enemy

You come back and You call it my victory 

All I did was praise

All I did was worship

All I did was bow down

All I did was stay still 

Worship needs to become a lifestyle! It is who we are, not what we do. It’s an inward state of being that becomes an outward expression.

God is looking for worshippers! Those that will worship in spirit and truth, to respond form our heart to His, to respond in total adoration and reverence.

We were created to worship, all creation!

Psalms 150:6 “let everything that breaths sing praises to the Lord”

Psalms 148: (READ 

As Stormie Omartian stated:

“We were created to worship God. It’s a state in which our soul finds true peace, rest, and purpose. But it must become a condition of the heart, a way of life, a pattern woven into the fabric of our being. Worship must become so ongoing that it is no longer even a decision that has to be made because the decision has already been made. Worship must become a lifestyle. When you make worship a lifestyle, it will determine in whose image you will be formed and what you become. Sometimes praise and worship will be the only thing you do in a situation. You will stand and praise God while the tornados of life whirl around you, and you will see God move on your behalf. And then you will understand the hidden power of praise. When you understand that concept, it will change your life.”