(Adapted from the paper “Why We Worship” by Carl Tuttle)
While worship is an everyday lifestyle of
service to God as well as ministering to Him in song, the
primary emphasis here is upon our gathering together as
believers in a small or large group to worship through songs
of praise and hear God speak to us and move among us in any
way He desires. His promise to us is that when we gather
together in His name, He literally comes into our midst.
Musical worship is the experience of lifting
our voices toward God and drawing near to Him through songs
of praise, adoration, and intimacy in order to touch Him and
to be touched by Him. This is a very scriptural concept as
set forth in the Psalms.
“Come let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let
us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation. Let us come
before His presence with thanksgiving and extol Him with
music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great
King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the
earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His,
for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come let
us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our
Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His
pasture, the flock under His care” (Ps. 9:1-7).
The scripture shows that worship is more
than a theology or a practice. It is an experience whereby
we actually approach and enter into God’s presence in a
manifest way. The focus of worship is to touch God’s heart
and to be in His presence.
