A Longing for Worship

Being locked up at home was hard for me, but in one way, it was absolutely magical. Worshiping through song with my family every Sunday reawakened a longing for worship in my heart. Sunday is no longer enough. Now I need to worship as often as I possibly can.

We sat, played together, read scripture, all for a total of two hours, and even then I wanted to keep going – even though my back had started hurting a long time ago. It’s a wonderful feeling. A feeling I’ve come to love.

I mean, after all, what better thing is there than to worship the God who created you? Show your admiration and appreciation to the One who Loves you?

We’ve started going to actual church again (which has been quite nice, to be surrounded by fellow, non-family believers), but just recently we had another (shorter) session in which we worshiped together. There’s something special about having a smaller amount of people, all of whom you know and are close to, to worship with. And it helps you grow even closer to them, too.

I’ve seen this longing in other people, too. Most of whom I actually didn’t know.

I’ve talked about the women’s conference before, and how much I absolutely loved it. That was a moment in which I could really feel that longing for worship be met. Feel the people around me pour out their hearts in worship, in a really beautiful way that satisfied that longing.

But what is worship? How do you meet that need for worship? What if you feel like you don’t really…have a need for worship?

What Is Worship?

Prayer, thanksgiving, singing, reading scripture. All of it is worship. But I think, for me, I like to focus in on the singing most of all. Not because it’s better or more valid than any other of those, but because it’s a way that I feel I can really personally connect with God among other believers.

From here on out, I’ll be talking only about worshiping through song, but I wanted to make it clear that there are many, many other ways of worship. I think that most any way of showing reverence or adoration towards God is worship. 

But just singing doesn’t mean you’re worshiping. Or even just praying, or reading scripture, or anything. If your heart isn’t in the right place, if it isn’t truly dedicated to the God of Creation, then it’s…void. Void of any true meaning.

What if I Don’t Feel the Need?

Firstly, I don’t think this makes you a horrible person or any less of a Christian. If you believe in God, believe that Jesus died for your sins, etc., then you are a Christian, in my opinion. But how do you awaken – or reawaken – that longing for worship?

I would encourage you to continue getting to know God more, on a personal, relational level. Because I’ve found that when you grow closer to God, that longing comes with it.

Prayer. Reading your Bible. Worshiping on your own, at home, in the privacy of your room. Talking to Jesus-loving mentor figures in your life. All of these things have helped me to love to worship. To have that longing, that I think is part of a deep relationship with Christ.

To me, worshiping God is a lot like spending time with a friend. If your friend was the God of All Creation, worthy of all glory, honor, and praise.

…Which He can be.

It’s like spending time with a friend, in that, when you get to know a friend more, you want to spend more time with them. And worshiping is a way of spending time with God.

It’s like celebrating your friend’s birthday. Constantly. It’s about them. But you have such a fun time celebrating them, even if it’s not about you.

Worshiping

I think everything really stems from where your heart is. If you’re going to church because of some percieved obligation, or expecting to get nothing out of it, or hating every moment from the start, or refusing to even open your spirit to the possibility of letting God work in you and through you, well…not much is going to happen.

And if you’re going into it specifically to meet your needs? Well, that’s not really going to turn out well, either.

How do I know? I’m speaking from experience, of course.

I think a lot of people have had at least one day in their life when they went to church thinking something along these lines: “I really need this to go well today. I hope the praise team does well. I really need to feel refreshed by this, and last week I was sorely disappointed.”

You might not have been thinking those exact words, but you probably felt something like that. If not, good for you! I’m only slightly jealous haha.

But if you have, maybe it’s time to really consider what that means. Because, here’s the thing…worship? It’s not for you. It’s for God. And through that worship, geared selflessly towards God, you often feel rejuvinated. Refreshed. Made whole again.

Who is church for? It’s for the whole body. Every individual, together, as a community. In an individualistic society, sometimes this is really hard for us (myself included) to wrap our heads around. But it’s true nonetheless.

Everything done in a worship setting should be done for God, through the whole body. Your worship as an individual melds with the worship of your Brothers and Sisters in Christ to make one beautiful sound (whether you’re singing on key or not!) in reverence to the Lord. And that, I think, is a beautiful thing.

If you’re looking for some songs for at-home worship sessions…

Sometimes, I like just being at home, retreating to my room, and worshiping God alone, in the quiet. If you’re looking for some songs to get started, this is the list I use:

Basically…

I’d encourage you not to overlook worship. Because it’s a wonderful way of growing closer to God, while being completely and totally in awe of him.

Do you have any go-to songs you listen to in personal quiet time/worship time? What are some ways you’ve found of “reawakening” your desire to worship God? Let me know in the comments!