Back to BasicsSample

‘Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.’

(Psalm 95:1-2 NIV)

We’ve looked at what worship is, and now we can look at what worship looks like in our day-to-day lives.

When?

You can worship wherever and whenever you like. (Maybe not in the middle of a supermarket, but hey, perhaps if the moment strikes you!)

How?

There are many expressions of worship; they can be as unique and vast as the individual. However, seven key Hebrew words explain seven different ways that we can worship God - with our bodies, voices, and with instruments.

Let’s look at them individually:

ZAMAR – ‘To make music in praise. To celebrate with singing and playing.’ Perhaps the most familiar worship form, Zamar, relates to instruments and song. When we use lyrics and melodies to praise and boast in our God, we worship Him in a way that blesses His heart and unites us all together in one holy sound.

HALAL– This type of worship means ‘to celebrate and to rave about God.’ This type of worship is all about expressing outwardly the way we feel inwardly about God, and though it is one of the more demonstrative forms of worship, it is nothing to be ashamed of.

TOWDAH – Towdah means ‘to raise hands in adoration as well as thankfulness for things not yet received.’ How beautiful. To raise hands in worship despite not receiving what we are hoping for. This displays trust in God that He will come through in His perfect time.

SHABACH – This type of worship means ‘to shout, to address God in a loud tone and to triumph.’ Much like ‘Halal,’ there is no shame in being loud before God and getting excited! He is God! He has and continues to move miraculously on the earth, day after day, year after year. Surely that’s worth shouting about?

YADAH – This means ‘to praise with thankfulness and outstretched hands.’ There’s something of surrender in this type of physical worship. Stretching out our hands invites God to fill them with His peace, presence, and provision.

TEHILLAH – This can be a unique way of worshipping God and has historically caused a divide in some churches. Tehillah means ‘to be led by the Holy Spirit in spontaneous moments of overflow praise to God.’ This can look like dancing, kneeling, raising your hands – or all of the above!! The essence of Tehillah is being led by the Holy Spirit into worshipping God.

BARAK – The humility of Barak is displayed in our posture. ‘To kneel down to bless God as an act of adoration’ shows that we accept our position as His creation and Him as Creator. We show Him a different kind of love by lowering our bodies and meekly coming before Him.

Don’t let all these Hebrew words and their definitions confuse you. Worship will likely come very naturally to you over time, and you will find ways that organically suit your character and relationship with God.

The main thing is that we do worship Him.

So, we now have prayer and worship under our belts. Stay tuned for another basic discipline of the Christian faith tomorrow.