What is worship? Is it the act of being at church? If someone were to ask you about your worship experience how would you respond? “Well, I sang a couple of hymns, put some money in the plate and heard the preacher.”

That would qualify as attendance, but does it qualify as worship? Attendance does matter (Heb 10:24-25); but worship is so much more.

Speaking to the issue of attendance without worship God says, “I wish one of you would shut the temple doors, so you would no longer kindle a useless fire on My altar!” (Malachi 1:10).

We need to remind ourselves that we have an audience when we worship. God is watching and rejoices in our worship. Speaking about the relationship between God and His people when they worship, the bible says, “But you are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3). When we worship, God inhabits our praises and is given the rightful place of honor in our presence.

The great privilege that Christians have is to worship the living God. When it comes to worship, God desires heartfelt substance over style. God does not want us to simply go through the motions. And of course, it stands to reason; He went through an awful lot of trouble for us to be able to worship Him.

We can worship today because Jesus died on the cross to make it so. Without His death and resurrection we would never be able to enter God’s presence. However, because Jesus made the way open for us, the bible tells us that we can approach the throne of grace with boldness! (Heb 4:16).

So what is worship? It is the act of seeking God in spirit and truth while ascribing to Him the immeasurable value of His person. (John 4:23-24; Psalm 145:3).

If you study the verses in John you will notice that what is at issue in worship is the condition of the heart; and God wants – no jealously demands and deserves – 100 percent of it.

Is your heart prepared to worship the living God?