In John, Chapter 4, Jesus meets a woman.  She is seeking a drink from Jacob’s well, but little did she know she would find much more than water.  Jesus would share with her one of the greatest revelations of worship ever released into the earth. 

Worship!  What is it?  The church has called our song services Praise and Worship for so many years that we have unconsciously identified worship with singing, music, and raising our hands.  We have confined worship to a building and placed the responsibility upon somebody else, the worship leader — conveniently named, to lead us into worship. 

This was the very attitude Jesus was correcting when He revealed the revelation of true worship.  The woman told Jesus that this was the place where her forefathers worshiped, but she understood the place of worship for the Jews to be in Jerusalem.  He responded by informing her that worship is not confined to a place.  Rather, the Father seeks those that would worship Him in spirit and in truth always.  In essence, He was telling her “you do not have to be in church to worship Me”!

This is my definition of worship in its purest sense –- giving up something I want for something He wants.  Plain and simple!  Anytime you give up something you want for something He wants, you are engaging in worship.  Why?  Because worship is obedience!  You can not restrict worship to what happens on Sunday mornings.  Worship is obeying the voice of God, and thereby sending a signal to heaven that He is more important then anything else in your life.  Worship is saying, “Not my will, but Your will be done”.  Jesus was telling this woman that she was called and designed to live in constant worship of the One greater than herself.  He was calling her to a higher standard of living.  He informed us that God is looking for those that will not only worship Him when the music starts, but worship Him in spirit and in truth daily with their decisions.  Please do not misinterpret my heart.  Corporate adoration of God is an overflow of worship, but you severely demean worship if you confine it to such.  God is waiting for a generation to realize that worship is lived out daily.  Every time you say “No” to the world and “Yes” to God, you are worshiping Him.  You are placing Him in His rightful place. 

I could go on and on about worship, but I want you to walk away from reading this with a clear understanding of what worship truly is.  Worship – what is it? 

Worship – giving up something you want for something He wants!

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