Many are familiar with the song, "Heart of Worship". The chorus rightly echoes "I'm coming back to the heart of worship, and it's all about You, all about You"
One of the original meaning of worship in Hebrew is to kiss like a dog licking the master's arm. It represents the inner passion to adore and to surrender ourselves totally to the Master - not out of compulsion but gratitude. What is the difference between praise and worship?
We praise God for what He has done, and worship Him for who He is. Praise is a response to His goodness whereas worship is a response to His glory. Even when things do not happen, we can still praise God because of what He has done and going to do! Worship however is an intimate affair. It must contain the element of surrender. The first notion of worship was revealed by Abraham when he wanted to go to the mountain to sacrifice his son Isaac as his act of worship. (This is by no means a child sacrifice but he believed that God could raise his son up again.)
Praise is a privilege of all creation. Everyone can praise God simply because He is worthy to be praised. The bible says, "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD."
Worship however is a privilege of the children of God, because only the children of God can worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
Praise is visible - clapping, singing, dancing, shouting. It can be easily detected but not worship, because it is a heart issue. Singing with tears or crying out aloud does not necessary mean that someone is worshipping the Lord. That is why Jesus said the Father is seeking true worshipers - true means genuine, not counterfeit.
The Father is looking for people who worships from a posture of surrender, love and deep intimacy.
Don't stop at just praising God, but draw near to worship Him.
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